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

Making Kothu At Home

Kothu roti ,meaning chopped roti ,is a Sri Lankan dish made from Godhamba roti  ( wheat roti). Kothu can be found in  restaurants  in  all parts of Sri Lanka and is usually eaten for dinner.It is relished among the young especially during parties. You can enjoy  a variety of kothus with ingredients like beef and chicken  added according to your taste. Even vegetarians,like my second daughter gets  to indulge in the vegetable kothu ,with vegetables like spring onions,carrots and cabbages added.  In recent times, Cheese kothu also has been introduced in the menu  by  kothu enthusiasts.

Routinely the kothu is made  on a large hot iron surface ,exclusively  used  for  mixing  the various ingredients to assemble  the  kothu .Even from a distance ,you will know that the kothu is being prepared because of the unique sound the metal blades make, when cutting and mixing all the ingredients together.

Kothu can be made from scratch ie you make the rotis at home and then make the kothu or simply buy the  parathas  from the shop and assemble the kothu with the  other ingredients.I was wondering what to do with the  left over parathas( roti) from last nights dinner.So it was a good idea when  my husband asked me to make some kothu for dinner.The rest of the ingredients I had at home so it did n’t take much time to get the dinner fixed. Next time you have some left over parathas, don't hesitate to  try out this recipe and impress everyone at home, like I just did.

Preparing Kothu at home

4  parathas ( roti)  ( shredded)

1 big onion

2-3  green chillies

1 tsp  fennel seeds

1 tbspoon ginger slices

1 tbspoon garlic crushed

1 tomato chopped

½ tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin powder

3-4  pieces of cooked chicken ( shredded)  with  gravy.( 1/2 cup)

2 eggs

A handful coriander leaves ( cilantro) chopped

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon oil.

Method

Heat oil in a tawa.Add fennel seeds .Then  add  the chopped  onion and cook until translucent. Next add ginger and  green chilies and cook for 1 minute, add the crushed garlic. Mix in  the curry powder, cumin powder  and the  tomatoe and cook  until soft. Add shredded Parathas  and cook until  the heat penetrates  all the way through. At this stage add the  shredded chicken and the gravy. Break the Eggs into the mixture and continuously  keep mixing till the eggs are completely cooked. Add salt to taste.

Toss the  Cilantro in and give it a final mix .Cover with a lid. Turn off the heat. Serve hot.( serves 3-4 persons)

Roasted Chicken

Since the children prefer chicken over beef or lamb,I have to find different ways of cooking chicken.They prefer to eat chicken without much spicy condiments and gravy.Here's their favourite.Roasted chicken with pepper and lemon.They had this for lunch yesterday.

This is a very simple form of roasting chicken:Wash and cut chicken into medium sized pieces.Rub over them with pepper and  salt.Place them in a  baking dish and drizzle lemon juice and dripping,preferably oil.I  put  some mint leaves  in between the chicken pieces to enhance the flavour.Baking time could take from 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours,Seal the baking dish with an aluminium foil for the first 1 hour. Remove the foil and  continue baking for the remaining of the cooking time.

Learning From Recipe Books

I am thankful to two of my dear friends back at home for gifting me recipe books to take with me when I stepped onto a new threshold .I didn't have any formal training in cooking .I learnt the basics just by watching my mother cook for us.Later with the help of the recipe books which my friends gave,one was given to me as a wedding gift and the other was given to me as a farewell gift.And with a little bit of this and that ,I soon learnt the techniques of fine cooking.Some of the dishes from the recipe books have become my favourites too.