Spicy Tuna Fish Cutlets

Hello there...I know I haven't been blogging much these days and I haven't had much time to blog hop either. There has been so much going on the past few days that I honestly haven't had much time to spend on my lappy :-)
As I had mentioned in my earlier post here, we had lot many celebrations lined up and we had quite an eventful weekend with lots of celebrations , food and sweets!

It was our Wedding Anniversary on Dec13th and these cutlets were my special treat to Manish who loves Tuna. And we both love Cutlets...we atleast I know that I could eat them all day! And these came out just so perfect that we were literally sad when it got over. :-)

Cutlets are nothing but croquettes made of meat/chicken/fish/veggies. They are usually deep fried, but I prefer to shallow fry depending on the thickness. Its a lovely appetizer, crunchy and spicy and finger licking good. These Cutlets are my own recipe and it takes hardly 30mins to prepare them.

I made few heart shaped cutlets, special ones for my sweetheart. I also prepared small cute round ones. They were crunchy on the outside, smooth on the inside, with a nice spicy flavor that will keep your tastebuds running even after you finish eating them. TRUST me!!!

Let me take you through the recipe with some step-by-step pics which will definitely make it easy for you to understand how this delicious appetizer is prepared! :-)
This recipe made about 10 small round cutlets and 4 medium sized heart shaped ones.

Spicy Tuna Fish Cutlets Recipe
Recipe source : My own
You'll need
Canned Tuna - 2 tins , 5oz each ( I used Light tuna)
Potato - 2 medium ( I used Russet)
Red Onion - 1/2 large or 2 medium ( diced into thin and small cubes)
Green chillies - 1 or 2 (thinly sliced)
Ginger - 1 inch or 1 tblsp (diced well)
Garlic - 2 (diced well)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Corriander powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
To coat the cutlets:
Egg - 1
Breadcrumbs - enough to coat ( Approx 2 cups) - I used store bought ones
Canola oil - for frying

Directions:
1. Dice and chop the red onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic and keep aside.
2. Boil the potatoes with some salt and mash them well and keep aside to cool.
3. Open the tuna cans and drain any excess oil or water and keep aside.

4. Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, add 1 tblsp canola oil and add the Ginger, Garlic and Green chillies and saute until the ginger-garlic turns mildly brown.

5. Add the Red Onions and and add some salt and cover and cook until the onions turns soft and mild and mildly carmelised, stirring occasionally.

6. Now add all the spices ( Red chilli powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder and garam masala) and mix well.

7. Then add the tuna chunks and mix well and such that each tuna piece is coated well with the spices and onions. Cover and cook for 2-3minutes and turn off the heat and let it cool.

                                  

8. When cooled , add the mashed potatoes and mix well. [ Its best to use your hands at this point :-) ]
9. If making heart shaped cutlets , take a large handful of the tuna-potato mixture and pat it down on a plate or board and then cut into it using the cookie cutter, or you could shape it by hand. ( I used cookie cutter)

10. You can also prepare small flat and round cutlets by taking small tennis ball sized tuna-potato mixture and gently pat it to form a disc shape of even thickness.
11. To coat the cutlets, beat an egg in a bowl and in a separate plate place the breadcrumbs.

12. Gently dip each cutlet into the egg and place it on the plate with the breadcrumbs and coat it on both sides with the breadcrumbs. Do this one by one.

13. You can deep fry or shallow fry the cutlets as per your wish. Fry until the cutlets looks brown and crunchy.
14. Serve hot with ketchup ...yummm!!

Suggestions:
a. You can substitute the Tuna for shredded Chicken/Beef.
b. Vegetarian variations could include mixed veggies like carrots, peas, baby spinach, paneer etc.
c. You could flavour your breadcrumbs instead (if you do not like all that spice ) with some garlic powder, red chilli flakes , dried oregano or some italian seasonings etc.
(The Potato helps to bind the mixture together and helps keep the cutlet intact while frying.)

Make these next time you have guests at home and they are going to be begging you for the recipe! :-)

Have a great day!!

Sending this post to:
1. Snacks Mela hosted by Srivalli

2. Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie.

-Manju