Fish Cutlets

Living in the coastal city of Kozhikode how can I ignore fish. People here are famous for their love for seafood. You can see them having fish even for breakfast. And we have a wide range of seafood  dishes to offer. Some of them are so popular that they have become the identity of the city.' Kallumma kaya' being the most famous among them.

Fish cutlets are a perfect tea time snack for all those fish lovers. Or it can be served as a starter for lunch and dinner. You can use any fish of your choice for this dish, the only thing is the fish u choose should be fleshy.

Ingredients

• Fish  -  350 gm
• Onions  -  2 large ( finely chopped)
• Ginger  -  a small piece (finely chopped)
• Potatoes  -  2 big (boiled and mashed)
• Green chilies  -  2 or 3 (finely chopped)
• Turmeric powder  -  1/4 tsp
• Pepper powder  -  a fat pinch
• Salt  -  to taste
• Egg whites  -  from two eggs
• Bread crumbs  -  1 to 11/2 cups
• Oil  -  for frying

Method

• Cook fish with turmeric and salt. Drain the water remove bones and crumble it.
• Heat a heavy bottom pan, add 2 tsp of oil. Saute onions green chilies and ginger till the onions turn light brown. Add a little salt while frying the onions to speed up the browning process.
• Add mashed potatoes, pepper powder and mix well.
• Finally add in the fish and mix gently. Check for salt.
• Remove from heat, let it cool to room temperature.
• Make lemon balls and slightly flatten it between the palms.
• Dip in egg white and roll in bread crumbs till it is evenly coated.
• Fry in oil till slightly deeper than golden brown. Transfer to a vessel lined with tissue to remove any excess oil.
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Notes

• The above given quantity of ingredients is what I used while cooking the dish for the blog. There isn't any specific measurement. So use your tongue and hands as guides.
• Potatoes are used as a binding factor, the aim is to prepare a mix which can be made into smooth patties, so you may have to adjust the quantity accordingly. But too much potatoes may spoil the taste.
•  Use chilly and pepper according to your taste.
• You can either shallow fry or deep fry your cutlets. In both ways you will have to remove burnt bread crumbs from oil time to time. Or else it will stick on to the cutlets giving it a bitter taste.