Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sri Lankan Cutlets (Fish) Version 1

Yum
These lightly breaded fish cutlets are a favorite at parties.  They are an excellent appetizer as well as a great accompaniment to any rice and curry meal.

Cutlets made with Tuna Fish

What you will need to get started:
3 5-oz cans of Tuna
1 big onion finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
3 boiled large white potatoes crushed
1/2 bottle of oil for frying (I used Canola)
Small handful of curry leaves minced
1/2 medium lime juiced
2 medium eggs
bread crumbs for breading
salt and pepper to taste


Cut onions, green chilies and curry leaves.  Heat 2tbs of oil in a frying pan and once heated add the onions, chilies and curry leaves to fry



Salt and pepper the onions and then add the 3 cans of tuna.  Then add the juice of a half a lime.



Add the boiled (mashed) potatoes and mix in well.


Mix together well and taste for the salt and pepper in the dish now that the potatoes have been added. I like to give my cutlets a peppery kick so I'm heavy on the pepper.   Take off the stove and allow to cool completely so you can handle the mixture with your hands to form the cutlets


Time to form the cutlets. Grab a small handful and slowly form into balls (mine were a little smaller than a golf ball). The most important part here is to make sure you don't have any cracks. If you have a crack then the cutlet will burst open when frying.


Set up the breading station:

The egg wash: Beat 2 medium eggs together with a tablespoon of cool water for dipping the cutlets before breading.

Breadcrumbs: I made my own by grinding some heals of bread in the blender. I don't recommend using seasoned bread crumbs.


The breaded cutlets are all ready for frying. Get this all done before you move onto the frying.


Heat the oil in a deep enough pan that you immerse the entire cutlet for cooking.  I started heating my oil at a medium/high heat on my stove.  I first dropped a few breadcrumbs in the oil to see if the oil was hot enough for frying. Once they browned, I knew the oil was nice and hot. 
** you do not want the oil screaming hot where it's smoking. That will burn your cutlets.


 Once fried, drain cutlets on a paper towel.  I yielded about 28 cutlets total.  The finished product. My kids were screaming to eat them while I tried to get this picture. : ) I recommend eating them straight away so you really get to appreciate the crispy coating. If you have leftovers you can always reheat them in a low oven. Enjoy


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