Cauliflower Tuna Cutlets

This is an easy to make savoury dish.An all time favourite of the young and the old.Instead of the usual potato I added cauliflower .It has a distinct flavour and an earthy taste.This dish is usually in  the spotlight during  family occasions.There's also a reason for me to switch the usual ingredient (potato) from this recipe mainly due to the fact that my husband is on a special needs diet and has been advised by his doctor to avoid potatoes due to its high potassium level.This is also a great recipe for diabetics as cauliflower does nt raise the sugar levels.

Cauliflower Tuna  Cutlets

400gms  tuna fish (canned)
A medium cauliflower ( boiled and cooled )
2 big onions chopped
3 green chilies chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
A piece of ginger chopped
A tsp cumin seed
1 tsp pepper seed
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
A few coriander leaves
1 carrot chopped
Juice of one small lemon/lime
Salt to taste.
Oil for frying ( I used N-Joy oil)

For coating the cutlets
2-3 eggs
breadcrumbs

Method for preparing the cutlets
Transfer the canned tuna into a bowl. ( discard the liquid).
Pound the garlic,ginger,cumin and black pepper seeds ,set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick pan.
Cook the onions till tender.
Stir in all the pounded ingredients and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the green chilly and the chopped carrot.Saute for another minute.
Stir in  the turmeric and curry powder
Now add the tuna, separate the pieces gently and mash with a spatula. Add the lemon juice and salt and mix the coriander leaves.
Transfer this curried mixture into a big bowl and set aside to cool.
Next, remove cauliflower florets ,squeeze out the water and add to the curried tuna .Mix well

Now follow the instructions  below

Using fingers,make  medium sized round patties.Place in the refrigerator for ½ hour.

For Coating the cutlets - Remove the cutlets from fridge.Beat the eggs.Dip the cutlets  in beaten eggs and coat with breadcrumbs.Fry in hot oil

Coconut Cake ( Bibikkan)

Bibikkan is  a delicious, dark moist cake made of shredded coconut, jaggery,dry fruits and semolina. It has got a very distinct taste and savoured by most foodies  in my country.This wonderful sweet treat was apparently introduced to Sri Lanka during the Dutch/Portuguese  rule.It is very  popular during the festive season.Recently I took an effort to make  this delicious delight from scratch.Due to Diabetes  my husband and I need  to  keep our sugar levels  under control, hence it was   essential to make a few changes in the recipe.Therefore I  omitted the jaggery and used treacle and date paste and also left out the   sugary  ginger preserves winter melons and the candied peel, which the original recipe called  for and substituted with unsweetened  dry fruits and the zest of citrus to cater to our taste.Regardless it turned out fabulous.

 Ingredients

40 ml  bottle of treacle

2 cups shredded coconut

50 g semolina  slightly roasted 

50 gram whole wheat flour

1 cup dates  chopped  

½ teaspoon fennel  crushed

2-3  cardamom crushed

50 g cashew nuts

1  cup  dry friuts/prunes,raisins( (chopped)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon mixed lemon/orange zest

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Extra cashew nuts for decoration (optional)

Method

Mix the coconut with the treacle ( I also used  1/2 cup of date paste). Stir in the semolina, dates, fennel, cardamom, the dry fruits,lemon/orange zest, cashew nuts, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.

Separate the egg white and york. Beat it separately and fold into the mixture.Now pour the contents into  a greased baking tray(9 inch*12 inch).Decorate with cahew nuts (optional).Bake in a moderate oven (160°C ) for 2 hours.Cool completely and cut.

*If you are using jaggery ,melt the jaggery in 375 ml water in a pan, add the coconut and  set aside to cool and then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

This can be wrapped individually and  stored in an airtight container in the freezer for later use.

Please note-This particular coconut cake (Bibikkan) was prepared to suit a diabetic's palate,using,treacle,date paste and whole wheat flour.There is an original recipe for this specialty cake using a varied of ingredients.