The street food in Goa has definitely evolved drawing tourists and locals to taste a variety of lip-smacking eatable items at unbeatable prices. Beef cutlet pão is one of the popular food served at stalls or refurbished trucks in the evenings. The term cutlet here is referred to a thin cut of meat, which is dredged in semolina and pan-fried not to be confused with the round patty made with ground meat. Very thin, large marinated pieces of beef are coated with semolina, shallow fried and enclosed in a local bread. Served topped with salad and drizzled with a sweet tangy sauce. The crispy succulent meat in combination with the crusty bread and fresh salad is “heaven in a bun”. So if you are craving for a crunchy cutlet pão and dying to be in Goa, head straight into your kitchen and try this recipe to be blown away.
Boneless slices of beef are thinned out by pounding with a mallet that breaks down the fibres in the meat, making them tender. This cooks the meat faster thereby, releasing less moisture. The slices are marinated with a spice paste, coated with semolina and pan fried on high heat with little oil. Once cooked, the beef cutlets are sandwiched in between a bun that is slathered with a creamy sweet dressing and topped with a tangy salad. A party in your mouth, each bite is delicious, irresistible, satisfying and memorable.
Boneless slices of beef are thinned out by pounding with a mallet that breaks down the fibres in the meat, making them tender. This cooks the meat faster thereby, releasing less moisture. The slices are marinated with a spice paste, coated with semolina and pan fried on high heat with little oil. Once cooked, the beef cutlets are sandwiched in between a bun that is slathered with a creamy sweet dressing and topped with a tangy salad. A party in your mouth, each bite is delicious, irresistible, satisfying and memorable.
Goan Beef Cutlet Pão
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
800 grams boneless beef (cut into thin large slices)
6 large buns or rolls
1 tablespoon vinegar
3/4 cup semolina (rava)
oil for shallow frying
salt
To be ground to a paste (with a dash of water)
6 large cloves of garlic
1-inch piece of ginger
4 long green chillies
10 whole black peppercorns
Method:
Pound each beef fillet with a meat tenderizer or mallet on a cutting board.
Season the fillets with salt, vinegar and add the ground spice paste. Leave fillets to marinate for four hours or overnight in the fridge.
Before frying the fillets, prepare the dressing and salad indicated below. Simultaneously, warm the buns in a preheated oven at 400 F or 200 C for a couple of minutes. Thus, making assembling easy once the fillets are fried and hot.
Heat a skillet on medium high heat and drizzle very little oil to coat the pan. Dredge each piece of fillet in semolina and cook until crisp on one side. Sprinkle some oil on top of the fillets, turn and fry on the other side. Do not cook the fillets on low or medium heat as the meat will start to release its juices and ruin the crumb. Hence, medium high heat (not very high) is advisable.
Remove fillets and wipe the pan clean with paper towel of any residue. Continue frying remaining pieces as above.
Dressing
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
Method:
In a bowl, blend the two ingredients and set aside.
Salad Mix
Ingredients:
2 carrots (peeled, washed and shredded)
2 cups cabbage (washed and shredded)
dash of lime juice
dash of vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt
Method:
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients.
Assembling:
Slather the bun slices with dressing. Enclose a couple of fried cutlets, top with salad and serve. If cutlet is too large, then cut to fit into the bun.
Note:
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
800 grams boneless beef (cut into thin large slices)
6 large buns or rolls
1 tablespoon vinegar
3/4 cup semolina (rava)
oil for shallow frying
salt
To be ground to a paste (with a dash of water)
6 large cloves of garlic
1-inch piece of ginger
4 long green chillies
10 whole black peppercorns
Method:
Pound each beef fillet with a meat tenderizer or mallet on a cutting board.
Season the fillets with salt, vinegar and add the ground spice paste. Leave fillets to marinate for four hours or overnight in the fridge.
Before frying the fillets, prepare the dressing and salad indicated below. Simultaneously, warm the buns in a preheated oven at 400 F or 200 C for a couple of minutes. Thus, making assembling easy once the fillets are fried and hot.
Heat a skillet on medium high heat and drizzle very little oil to coat the pan. Dredge each piece of fillet in semolina and cook until crisp on one side. Sprinkle some oil on top of the fillets, turn and fry on the other side. Do not cook the fillets on low or medium heat as the meat will start to release its juices and ruin the crumb. Hence, medium high heat (not very high) is advisable.
Remove fillets and wipe the pan clean with paper towel of any residue. Continue frying remaining pieces as above.
Dressing
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
Method:
In a bowl, blend the two ingredients and set aside.
Salad Mix
Ingredients:
2 carrots (peeled, washed and shredded)
2 cups cabbage (washed and shredded)
dash of lime juice
dash of vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt
Method:
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients.
Assembling:
Slather the bun slices with dressing. Enclose a couple of fried cutlets, top with salad and serve. If cutlet is too large, then cut to fit into the bun.
Note:
- Large kaiser buns available at Walmart were used.
- Family loved the dressing and were curious to know. They were blown away by the cutlet pao, now a favourite!!!
Goan Chicken Cutlet Pão
(Serves 6 or 12)
Ingredients:
12 boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1 1/2 cups semolina (rava)
oil for shallow frying
salt
Grind the following with 2 tablespoons vinegar
12 small green bird's eye chillies
6 large cloves of garlic
1-inch ginger
12 whole black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks (1.5-inch each)
8 cloves
4 green cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
handful coriander leaves
Method:
Pound each fillet with a meat tenderizer or mallet on a cutting board.
Season the fillets with salt and add the ground spice paste. Leave fillets to marinate for four hours or overnight in the fridge.
Follow frying procedure, dressing and salad mix as indicated in the above beef cutlet recipe.
Serve fried cutlet sandwiched in between a bun or lolyo that is slathered with the creamy sweet dressing and topped with salad mix.
Note:
(Serves 6 or 12)
Ingredients:
12 boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1 1/2 cups semolina (rava)
oil for shallow frying
salt
Grind the following with 2 tablespoons vinegar
12 small green bird's eye chillies
6 large cloves of garlic
1-inch ginger
12 whole black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks (1.5-inch each)
8 cloves
4 green cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
handful coriander leaves
Method:
Pound each fillet with a meat tenderizer or mallet on a cutting board.
Season the fillets with salt and add the ground spice paste. Leave fillets to marinate for four hours or overnight in the fridge.
Follow frying procedure, dressing and salad mix as indicated in the above beef cutlet recipe.
Serve fried cutlet sandwiched in between a bun or lolyo that is slathered with the creamy sweet dressing and topped with salad mix.
Note:
- Chicken cutlet sandwiched in lolyo made with all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Refer to Note. 2 of Lolyo (Goan Chourico/Cutlet Pão) recipe by clicking here.