PERKEDEL JAWA (JAVANESE POTATO PATTIES)

These potato patties are adaptation of Dutch Frikadels. The original recipe uses eggs but I managed to use chickpea flour to glue the potatoes and other ingredients together. Some people make these patties spicy, Javanese style, and use full flavor spices like chillies, coriander and cumin. These spices can be omitted to resemble the original recipe. It is a matter of taste.

I also pan fry the patties instead of deep frying to maintain my lower fat diet. The picture above is the result of pan frying. Of course, these patties are better deep fried. This is another recipe (in Indonesian) in the Internet and a picture of the deep fried ones: Deep Fried Perkedel

Servings: 8
1 lb Russet potatoes
2 clove garlic
6 clove shallots
1/2 cup dry ground TVP
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 tbsp Kecap Manis
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar (gula jawa)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chickpea flour (garbanzo flour)
oil for deep frying or oven frying

Javanese Style (optional):
2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp ground cumin seed
3 dried red chillies or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek

1. Soak the 3/4 cup dry ground TVP in a 3/4 cup hot water to reconstitute it. Soak the dry red chillies, if using, in hot water. Let both sit for at least 10 minutes.
2. Steam the potatoes (unpeeled) until tender (about 40 minutes in a steamer) or steam it in a microwave (follow the time table from manufacturer's instructions). I used my pressure cooker for 7 minutes on high and then quickly release the pressure. Carefully, remove the peel from the hot steamed potatoes. The peel should come off very easily. Let it cool slightly but make sure that they are still somewhat warm when they are mashed.
3. While the potato is steaming, using a mortar and pestle or a mini food processer, pound the peeled garlic and shallots until it become a paste (process in the food processor for a minute). For Javanes style, add red chillies or sambal oelek and continue pounding or mixing it to a paste.
4. Stir fry the paste in 2 tsp. oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.
5. In a large bowl, mash the potato with a potato masher or pestle until smooth like making mashed potato. Add the reconstituted ground TVP, the garlic, shallots, and chili paste, ground nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Add the chopped celery. Combine the lemon juice and kecap manis, then, add it to the bowl. For Javanese style, add the ground coriander and cumin seeds also.
6. With your clean hand, mix everything thoroughly making sure there is no more potato chunks.
7. Add the chickpea flour to the bowl, mix to form a dough. The mixture will start to firm up and will stick to your hand. You can put a little oil on your hand so the dough will not stick. Form a ball the size of a golf ball and then flatten it between your hands. The recipe makes about 24 flattened balls.
8. Heat oil about 1-inch deep in a deep frying pan until it reaches 350 F. Deep fry the patties until golden brown. Alternative method for low fat: Pan fry patties on a non-stick frying pan sprayed with oil.
   
   
   Nutrition Facts (pan fried):Nutrition (per serving): 113.0 calories; 8% calories from fat; 1.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 394.1mg sodium; 433.1mg potassium; 21.3g carbohydrates; 2.4g fiber; 3.7g sugar; 18.9g net carbs; 5.6g protein; 1.9 points.

Tips: For a short cuts, I sometimes use store bought Indonesian fried onions (brambang goreng) instead of shallots but this will add the fat content too.