Fish cakes

This is a very easy and quick snack and I will just admit that it tastes absolutely delicious! A and I gobbled up 16 fish cakes in less than an hour! They are not extremely crispy or greasy but have just the right amount of crisp on the outside and is soft and moist on the inside. Since I used fish fillets, I did not have to spend time taking out the bones. You can use any fleshy fish with more meat and less fat and bones. The taste of the fish is not very important, I used Tilapia because it takes in the flavour of whatever spices I put; you can use any other local fish available. The fish patties can be made in advance and kept in the fridge. All you have to do is fry them when the guests arrive. Did I mention they taste delicious?!

Prep time: 50 min Cooking time: 20 min Serves: 16 cakes

Ingredients:

Tilapia fish fillet: 3
Medium-sized potatoes: 2
Small onion: 1
Coriander leaves: 1 small bunch
Green chillies: 1–2
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp (optional)
Chilli powder: 1 tsp (optional)
Eggs: 2
Cornflour: 6 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Bread crumbs: 3-4 cups
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method:

1) Peel and cut potatoes into big chunks and boil them in a deep pan with a pinch of salt till they are soft.
2) In another pan, poach the cut fish fillets by simmering them in boiling water with some salt for 15 min. (You can use any fish if you don’t have tilapia fillets, just poach the pieces and remove the bones carefully).
3) Drain the potatoes and the fish and mash them together with salt, cumin powder, chilli powder, garam masala, finely chopped onions, coriander leaves, green chillies and lemon juice.
4) Beat one egg and add it to the mixture. Make small balls of the mixture and press them to make a small patty. (If the mixture is very soggy, add some bread crumbs which will soak up the excess moisture).

5) Beat another egg in a seperate bowl. Mix bread crumbs and cornflour in a flat plate.
6) Dip each fish cake in the egg and then pat it on the bread crumbs to coat it on all sides.
7) Keep the cakes in the fridge for 20 min so that the crumbs stick to the patties.

8) In a pan, shallow fry the fish cakes on medium heat for 5 min on each side. Turn them only once because the patties are very delicate and can break easily. The outside must be crispy but the inside of the fish cakes must be moist and flaky.

9) Once golden brown on both sides, remove from heat and let excess oil soak on a tissue paper. Serve with chilli sauce or mint chutney.

Note: Since the fish is already poached, it is cooked and so you don’t need to deep fry it in a lot of oil. Just shallow frying is enough to brown the outside and integrate the flavours inside.