How To Make Sri Lankan Fish Cutlets | Let Them Cook

SRI LANKAN FISH CUTLETS RECIPE

This recipe was given to me by my mum and makes roughly 18 cutlets.

00:00 Ingredients:
1 brown onion, finely chopped
4 x small white potatoes, boiled and cut into 2cm chunks
3 x green chillies, seeded and finely chopped
2 stems of curry leaves (25 curry leaves), finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
The juice of half a lemon
1 x 425g can of tuna in springwater
½ cup plain flour (Mix with ¾ cup of water to make the frying batter)
1 cup breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying


00:45 Method:
1. Drain the can of tuna and then squeeze out any excess water by taking handfuls of tuna and squeezing the water out. This will ensure that your cutlets hold their shape. Place the drained tuna in a large bowl.
2. To the same bowl, add the boiled and chopped potatoes, chillies, curry leaves, cumin seeds, curry powder, coriander powder, pepper and lemon. Mix together with a fork or your hands until well combined
3. Shape the mixture into balls, a bit smaller than the size of a golf ball using your hands
4. Prepare the crumbing station by mixing the flour with the water. The consistency of the mixture should coat the back of a spoon. Pour the breadcrumbs into a bowl.
5. Crumb the cutlets by first dunking them in the wet flour mixture and turning them around so they are evenly coated. Lift them from the mixture and let any excess liquid drip off. Then dunk them in the bread crumbs, turning them around so that all sides are coated evenly. Place on a plate.
6. Once all cutlets have been crumbed, heat up the oil in a deep saucepan for frying.
7. Test whether the oil is ready for frying by dropping a breadcrumb in. If it sizzles and floats to the surface, it should be ready.
8. Fry the cutlets in the oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Depending on how big your pan is, this will most likely need to be done in batches.
9. Take the cutlets out when they are golden-brown in colour, letting the excess oil drip off. Preferably, place on a wire rack so that they maintain their crispiness.
10. Serve with tomato sauce

Notes:
Preferably go for the smaller green chillies for more flavour and spice
We suggest using a Jaffna curry powder for taste.
We suggest using Krummies or a higher quality (not so powdered) bread crumb for maximum crisp. Panko is also great
For the tuna, it’s best to use tuna in springwater as anything else will effect the taste. You can also substitute out the tuna for other canned fish too - traditionally they’re made with mackerel
Feel free to taste the mixture before coating it to make sure it’s seasoned correctly