Prawn Rissoles | A Smart Starter Snack | An Authentic Portugal Appetizer

 

Rissoles- a breaded pastry filled with savoury meat or vegetables which are commonly deep-fried or baked.
Prawn Rissoles - an authentic Portugal Appetizer or Starter snack which we could see on every Portugal parties. They are super yummy lending a crispy note on the outside and a gooey mouth-melting feel from the inside.

The filling is creamy, less spicy and really a wonderful treat to the palates. While coming to the outer layer, the breaded pastry does wonder in giving an extra crispy note to the Prawn Rissoles.

As usual, I make my own twist to the Prawn Rissoles to give them a South-Indian touch. I add red chilli powder to come up with a spicy yet yummy filling. Additionally, the fresh coriander leaves give a fresh note to the recipe. The substitution of all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour is another change I do, trust me it doesn't add any nutty taste to the recipe.

The filling could be prepared in advance and could be refrigerated for later use. The complex procedure of cooking prawns alone and making roux alone would be the things you won't see in my blog as I make the filling super-easy with a one-pot trick.

Dough rolling could also be made easier with the simple technique shown below. So, the super-yummy treat is what we gonna see through this post. Worrying about an unhealthy deep-fried snack? I have an option for you. The baked version is the smart option you could pick. To be frank, the baked version is not up to the mark while comparing with the deep-fried (or shallow fried) version. Still, they are good and I have shown that as well in my post.

So, Wanna know my Twist to Prawn Rissoles?

• I skipped tomato as I don't want tanginess in the rissoles. If you do want, feel free to add tomato puree followed by the onions.
• Unlike the authentic Prawn Rissoles recipe, I add some chopped garlic which outstands the prawn filling. So, I recommend everyone to add garlic in your Rissole filling.
• I add some Paprika powder along with the pepper powder for extra spiciness which we want in South-India.
• The addition of fresh coriander leaves is the anchor thing which makes us say 'WOW'.
• The pastry made with the whole wheat flour is another healthy option I picked up.
• One more change is that the dough is prepared with milk + water mixture which makes it extra yummy. The point to note is that the authentic recipe calls for water or stock to prepare the dough.

What could I use if I plan to skip Egg-wash?

• Egg-wash is mandatory to help glue the bread crumbs to the Rissoles.
• Corn flour + water could be used instead.
• Milk could also be used.

Can I proceed with the recipe with NO milk?

• Milk gives mildness and yumminess to the filling.
• You could use cornflour + water instead of flour + milk for the filling.
• For the dough, use water or stock and feel free to skip the milk.

The very tasty Prawn Rissoles would be the result if you follow the procedure exactly as given below. Though Prawn rissoles can be consumed without any side dips, dip lovers could pair hot and spicy Tomato ketchup with them. Feel very glad to introduce the Great recipe from Portugal cuisine and I'm pretty sure, Kids would love this smart starter snack.

Looking for Side dip?
Explore Momo Chutney
Also, don't miss to visit Mutton Wheat Momos post.

⌚Preparation Time: 20 minutes
⌚Cooking Time: 20 to 30 minutes
🍴Servings: 22 to 25 Prawn Rissoles

Prawn Rissoles

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A pastry with a savoury Prawn filling which is breaded and then deep-fried (or baked) to get a super crunchy outside with a yummy gooey filling Inside.

What to Use?
For Prawn Filling: 

• Prawns - 250 g
• Butter - 1 tbsp (for sauteeing) + 1 tsp (for roux)
• Garlic - 4 to 5 cloves (chopped)(optional)
• Onion - 1 (big-sized)
• Salt - as needed
• Milk - 50 ml
• Corn flour - 1 tbsp 
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - a few (optional)

For Dough Preparation: 

• Whole wheat flour - 250 g
• Milk - 100 ml (optional) or Stock
• Water - 100 ml 
• Butter -1 tsp
• Salt - as needed
  

Steps Involved: 

• Heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan.
• Saute chopped garlic and chopped onions.
• Add in the chopped prawns and season with salt.
• Close with a lid and cook for 8 minutes with no water added to it.
• Mix milk with cornflour to make a corn slurry.
• Make a gap in the centre of the pan and add a little butter to it.
• To the butter, add the corn slurry and mix.
• Add in the red chilli powder, black pepper powder and mix well.
• Once the filling gets thickened, add a few freshly chopped coriander leaves and the tasty prawn filling is ready.
• For making dough, heat milk and water in a pan.
• Add butter, salt and wheat flour to the hot milk + water mixture and mix over the burner.
• When the dough comes together, transfer to a clean surface and knead for a minute or two.
• Roll the dough to a thin sheet and cut 4-inch circles out of it.
• Fill each circle with the Prawn filling, fold over and press with the fingers to seal the edges.
• Dip the prawn rissoles in a beaten egg and then coat them in the crumbled bread.
• Deep-fry or shallow-fry the Prawn rissoles until they show off brown colour.
• Serve hot as such or pair with Tomato ketchup.

Visual Treat: 

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For comforting the easy understandability of the recipe, the step by step detailed procedure along with the picture is shown below:

Step-by-Step Procedure with Pictures

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How to Make?

For Prawn Filling:

• Heat a tablespoon of butter (or cooking oil) in a pan.

• Add chopped garlic cloves to the pan and saute. This step is optional, but I suggest adding garlic cloves for the tasty Prawn filling.

• Add in the chopped onions and saute till they turn soft.

• Add the washed and chopped prawns to the pan.

• Season with the needed salt and give a good stir to bind the ingredients. Cook the prawns covered for not more than 8 minutes. The prawns release water which would be sufficient to cook the mixture. So, skip adding water and also keep in mind, don't overcook the prawns.

• Meanwhile, mix Milk and Cornflour to make a Corn slurry. The authentic recipe calls for all-purpose flour + milk which could also be used.

• Make a gap in the middle of the pan and add a little butter to it.

• When the butter melts, add in the corn slurry and give a quick mix.

• Add red chilli powder for extra spiciness. This step is optional and you could skip it.

• Add black pepper powder (or white pepper powder) to the prawn filling which is the only spice ingredient in the authentic recipe.

• Stir well the ingredients. When they get together, add the fresh coriander leaves and turn off the flame.

• The yummy Prawn Filling is ready to get filled in the pastry.

For Dough Making:

• To a pan, add 100 ml milk and 100 ml water. You could skip the milk and use 200 ml of water. Perhaps, some stock could also be used in the place of milk.
• Add in the butter, salt and whole wheat flour and mix over the burner until they come together as a soft dough.

• Transfer to a surface and knead the dough for a minute or two.

• Roll the dough into a thin sheet using the rolling pin.

• Cut the sheet into 4-inch circles (approx) using any sharp circle object or cookie cutter.

• Place a tablespoon of Prawn filling in the circle pastry sheet.

• Fold the sheet to half over the prawn filling and press gently with the fingers to seal the edges.

• Make all the Prawn Rissoles following the similar fold and press technique. You would get 22 to 25 Prawn rissoles for the mentioned amount of ingredients.

• Beat one egg and get it ready to give egg wash. Dip the Prawn rissoles in the beaten egg. This helps glue the bread crumbs to the Rissoles surface. You could use corn slurry for battering before breading the Prawn Rissoles.

• Coat with the bread crumbs which gives a crispy outer to the prawn rissoles.

• Once you have done with the breading process, the Prawn Rissoles would look like this. See how inviting they are.

• Don't delay. Just deep-fry or shallow-fry the Prawn Rissoles.

• After about 4 to 5 minutes, they form a crispy brown outside and that is the right time to take them out.

Baked Version of Prawn Rissoles:

• If you are too health-conscious, try this baked version of Prawn Rissoles. For doing this, arrange the Prawn Rissoles in the baking tray.

• Egg wash all the Prawn Rissoles. You could coat with bread crumbs too.

• Bake with the mentioned timings after preheating the oven for 10 minutes in 180-degree Celcius.

• The tasty Prawn Rissoles are best to serve hot with or without any dip.

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Tips:

• Prawn takes less time to get cooked. So, make sure to not overcook it. Overcooked prawns may lose juiciness and tend to turn hard. 
• Milk could be replaced by stock or water in both the filling and pastry part.
• Deep-fried version topped tastewise though the baked version was also good.
• Though cooking oil can be used, butter lends a rich taste to the filling.

Lip-Smacking Smart Starter Snack!