Tuna Cutlets

 A cutlet is a flat croquette of minced food often associated with chicken or vegetables. Making it from scratch involves a laborious process with different specific and necessary stages – which is probably why cutlet making was always a joint activity at home when I was small with my Grandmom and Ma toiling over boiled meat and potatoes and painstakingly providing them a structure that ensured that they did not break off halfway through frying. This duty passed on to my sis when she grew up – while yours truly stayed as far away from the kitchen as possible; until, of course, the beautiful smell of readied cutlets wafted through to my room. Chacha (my father) and I generously dipped into all the reserves of cutlets with no thought to the labour involved as freshly fried homemade cutlets have a taste and smell that beats the ones bought in a store, any day.

Once, at an aunt's place, I chanced upon home made fish cutlets which was quite a blessing as Aravind and I lived in Hyderabad at the time and our collective knowledge about buying and cooking fish hovered around nil. She used tinned tuna to make them – and I filed away the knowledge for future use. Last week, as I shopped at the Morrisons store in Hounslow, I chanced upon some tinned tuna and mashed potatoes and decided to give a simplified version of cutlets a go. They turned out really well and Aravind was licking his fingers long after :)

What Goes In:

Tinned Tuna Chunks– 2/3 cup

Mashed Potatoes – 2 cups

Green chillies (finely chopped) – 3

Garlic Cloves (chopped) – 10

Onion (chopped) – 2 large

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Chilly powder – 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Pepper powder – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp plus for deep frying

Curry leaves (chopped) – 2 sprigs

For coating:

Egg (beaten after seasoning with salt and pepper) – 1

Wholemeal Bread crumbs – 2 cups

The 'How To':

1. In a pan, heat the oil and fry onions, green chillies, curry leaves and garlic till the onions start to brown.
2. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1 min. Bring the heat to medium and add the masala powders. Saute till the raw smell disappears.
3. Drain the tinned tuna, shred them coarsely with your hands and add to the above mixture. If you are using fresh boneless fish, you will need to boil it first with a little salt, cool and then add to the mixture. Fry to ensure that all the water has evaporated.
4. At this stage, add the mashed potatoes and salt (taste to see if it is required) and mix well to ensure that there are no lumps. Once potatoes are well incorporated, remove from heat and keep aside to cool.
5. For coating the cutlets, keep the eggs readied in a wide mouthed bowl and spread the bread crumbs onto a plate.
6. Gather a small portion of the fish and potato mixture into a ball the size of a lemon, keep on the palm of your hand and press by putting pressure with your other palm. Dip this in the egg and immediately coat with the bread crumbs. Repeat with all the other portions. The size of the cutlet would depend on the size of the portion chosen. You may also shape the cutlets in any other way as you desire.
7. At this stage, the cutlets can be stored in a zip bag or container in the freezer, in case you are making them in advance for an occasion or for later use.
8. When required, deep fry the cutlets, drain onto absorbent paper and serve hot.

I made 14 large cutlets with the quantities mentioned above. Since my success rate with frying frozen cutlets (without breaking them) is very low, I fried the cutlets in advance and stored them in the fridge – heating them in the microwave, when required.

The cutlets can be served with ketchup or a dip as a snack or had with rotis or rice.