Fish Cutlet

Fish cutlets develop a different taste and texture than the fish it is made up of. A dish that can be filling by itself. Maa used to make them with Rohi fish. She pain-stakingly removes the bones of the fish. Naturally, I was delighted when I saw my SIL make a fish chop and she did not have to worry about the bones. Yes, she had used tilapia fish fillets. Since then, I have been using the tilapia fish for cutlets. I tried out the catfish and it tastes good too as cutlet. This tastes good with rice-dal or biryani or just by itself as an appetizer.

Ingredients (Makes 25-30 cutlets)

Tilapia Fish Fillet - 3 pieces (Catfish fillet also works!)
Salt - 2 tsp (1 tsp + 1 tsp)
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Ground Pepper - 1 tsp

Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chilli - 3 chopped OR Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 2 tbsp, chopped
Frozen Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Potatoes - 5, boiled cooked and mashed
Canola oil - 3 tsp + as required for frying the cutlets

Eggs - 4
Herbed Bread Crumb - 1 cup

Step 1

Marinade the Tilapia fish fillets with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp ground pepper and 1 tsp garam masala. Keep it aside for about 2 hrs.

Step 2

Heat 1 tsp canola oil. Fry the marinated fish till the fish is cooked. Keep it aside.

Step 3

Heat 2 tsp of canola oil. Fry the chopped onions till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and keep stirring till completely cooked. Add 1 tsp salt, chilli, chopped cilantro and thawed green peas till the peas are cooked. Add mashed potato and cook till the potatoes don't stick to the sides of the container. Add the cooked fish from Step 2 and break it as per the texture you like. Hubby likes good chunks of fish, so I coarsely break the fish. Cool the mixture.

Step 4

Beat the eggs. Take the bread crumbs in a medium-sized flat plate. Arrange the containers in this order - fish-potatoe mixture -> egg -> bread crumb -> oil for frying - so that you make the cutlets and drop them in the oil for frying. Make oval shape or circular shape of the cutlets as shown in the pic. Try to keep the depth of the cutlet to 1 inch or less.

Serve the cutlets hot with fresh chopped onions. Tastes good with some tomato sauce and chilli sauce.