Indian Spiced Potato Cutlet w/ Spicy Cilantro Dip

CUTLETS:
prepare instant mashed potatoes but DO NOT add milk. Just add enough water to reconstitute, usually slightly less than the box directions recommends.
chop/grate carrots, onions, cilantro, and chile. stir into mashed potatoes and add 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs, and salt.
In a small pan, heat one teaspoon of oil on medium heat. Once heated, add garlic and cumin seeds stirring often so you don't burn garlic. Heat for about 2 minutes, or until garlic is just SLIGHTLY brown. Whatever you do, do not burn garlic. Remove from heat and add to potatoes.
in a small bowl, combine about four tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. let sit, but make sure the cornstarch dissolves.
Scoop out the mashed potatoes in rounded teaspoons. make into a ball. using your fingers, press lightly into the middle of the ball. the ball should flatten and make a patty shape. Continue making patties with rest of the potato mixture.
Pour rest of bread crumbs into a shallow bowl, or baking dish. Dip potato patty into cornstarch mixture, then into breadcrumbs. Make sure patty is covered in crumbs. Repeat until finished.
In a heavy bottom skillet (i used my cast iron pan), heat enough oil to coat pan and fry patties – I used about an 1/8th of a cup.
Fry cutlets on each side, until browned. Remember, everything is already cooked –you just want to lightly brown breadcrumbs and serve these hot.
Serve immediately! (or keep in an oven on “warm”setting –about 175 to 200 degrees, until ready to serve)
DIP: process all ingredients in a blender.
Notes:
Make sure that the mashed potatoes are completely unflavored, and vegan. Do not buy "garlic + chives" flavor, etc. If you prefer to use fresh potatoes, you'll need enough for 3 cups of plain mashed potatoes.
You can scrape the seeds out of you want less heat. But don't eliminate, it makes a big difference in flavor. A word of caution: Serrano peppers linger on your fingers. Use a glove while preparing, or make sure to wash your hands THOROUGHLY! Do not, DO NOT!, touch your eyes or nose or any sensitive areas after handling unless you're sure the heat is off your hands.
You can find vegan yogurt at Whole Foods or a local natural foods store. If you don't want to use vegan yogurt, try replacing with 4 tablespoons of silken tofu + 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. The dip will be more runny, but the taste will be similar.
You can process cilantro w/ stems -no need to tear off each leaf.
Source of recipe: I wrote the recipe.