Tuna & Potato Cutlet

Weather is so crazy and unpredictable here. The sudden change of weather from sunny afternoon to rainy  evening increased my craving of having something hot and spicy. Luckily, the boiled potatoes in my fridge which I preserved for curry, saved my time in preparing these delicious cutlets. Along with the potatoes, I have included canned Tuna, onion, red chilli flakes and garlic powder in this recipe. 

Tuna & Potato cutlet pairs perfectly with any variety of sauce but personally, I served these tasty cutlets with sriracha sauce since I was craving for some spicy dish. In addition to the sauce, mint chutney and coriander chutney also pairs perfectly. The refrigeration and freezer part mentioned in the recipe are mandatory which in turn helps to hold the shape of cutlet without breaking while cooking. If the mixture is too soft, add little bread crumbs before making patties. I have shallow fried the cutlets in this recipe but the same can also be deep fried in oil. If you are planning to deep fry the cutlets, then prepare a separate batter using maida and water. Then dip the shaped patties in the batter and coat it with the bread crumbs. Always freeze the cutlets for sometime before frying. 

Variations can be made to these cutlets by adding sweet corn, green peas, coriander leaves, spinach, cheese etc. 

Here comes the recipe for Tuna & Potato Cutlet...

Ingredients :

1 Canned Tuna  

2 Medium sized Potatoes, cooked

1 Onion, finely chopped 

1 Tsp Red chilli flakes 

1 Tsp Garlic powder 

Salt to taste 

Bread crumbs ( I have used store bought bread crumbs which already contains dried herbs and cheese ).

Oil for shallow frying 

Method :

Mash or grate the boiled potatoes and keep aside. 

Drain the liquid from the Tuna can and transfer the tuna to a bowl.

Now add mashed / grated potatoes along with onion, red chilli flakes, garlic powder and the required quantity of salt.

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. 

Now divide the mixture into equal number of ball, gently flatten them and make thick patties. 

Repeat the process for the remaining mixture and keep aside. 

Add bread crumbs in a separate plate and keep aside. 

Now take one flattened cutlet, place it on the bread crumbs and cover it evenly. 

Once all the patties are done, keep it in the freezer for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in a non stick pan and set ready to shallow fry the cutlets. 

Place the prepared cutlet in a pan and cook both the sides. 

Once done, remove and drain the excess oil using kitchen towel.

Serve hot. 

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Green chutney or any sauce. 

Chutney Options :

Mint Curd Chutney 

Coriander Chutney 

Mint Tomato Chutney 

Click HERE for more chutney recipes!

Tofu - Mushroom Burji Bun Pizza

Are you craving for pizza and no pizza base at home ? No worries, try this quick and tasty pizza using bun. Any variety of buns like sweet or burger buns can be used for this recipe. And also no oven is required for this recipe. Tofu - Mushroom Burji Bun Pizza is also a perfect party snack and also a great evening snack for kids when they are back home from school. Burji is prepared using Tofu and mushroom along with the spices. Paneer can also be included instead of Tofu, if you are allergic to soya products. The base is prepared by pressing the bun using flat masher. It helps to get a thick base which is similar to pizza. Then, the prepared burji is placed on top of bun pizza base along with the generous quantity of cheese and cooked again on a dosa tawa.

Ingredients :

4 Buns ( Sweet or Burger Buns ) 
2 Tbsp Oil 
2 Onions, finely chopped 
2 Tomatoes, finely chopped 
2 Green chillies, finely chopped 
1/2 Cup Bell pepper / Capsicum ( Coloured ), finely chopped 
Salt to taste 
1/2 Cup Mushroom, finely chopped 
1/2 Cup Tofu, grated 
1 1/2 Tbsp All purpose seasoning ( pizza seasoning ) 
6 - 8 Tbsp Butter 


Method :

Heat dosa pan, brush little butter and place the bun on it. ( Cook on a lower flame )

Press the top part of the bun using masher to make it like pizza base.

Once the bun turn flat like pizza base, remove from the dosa pan and repeat the process for the remaining buns. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions.

Saute till it turns translucent and add chillies followed by tomatoes.

Saute until it turns soft and add capsicum followed by mushroom, tofu and salt.

Cook until the mushroom gets cooked and add all purpose seasoning.

Toss well and remove from the flame.

Now fill the bun base with the prepared filling and generously spread grated cheese on top of it.

Now heat dosa pan and brush little butter.

Place the prepared bun pizza and cover it with the lid until the cheese starts melting.

Once done, remove from the pan and sprinkle pizza seasoning along with chilli flakes.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Tomato sauce.

Garlic Knots

After April month swap post "Hong Kong Noodle Soup", here comes my second month participation in an interesting event Food Bloggers Recipe Swap hosted by Amber Dawn. For May month, I was paired with an amazing blogger Sapana who blogs at cookingwithsapana.com. The concept of the theme was to select one recipe from my partner's page and recreate the recipe. It took so much time for me to choose one recipe from her page while all her recipes looked so inviting and tempting. Finally tried these beautiful baked garlic knots which was a super hit in my place. These garlic knots are perfect with hot tea and also, can be served as breakfast along with salsa, jam or sauce. The actual recipe calls for the parsley, but I have replaced it with coriander leaves in garlic butter. Thank you Sapana for sharing such a delicious baked snack.

Click HERE to view the actual recipe from Sapana's page. 

Ingredients :

11/2 Cups All purpose flour / Maida + extra for dusting 

1 Tsp Sugar 

1 Tsp Salt 

1 Tbsp Olive oil 

1 Tsp Instant dry yeast 

1 Cup Warm water 

For Garlic Butter :

4 Tbsp Butter, melted 

1/4 Cup Coriander leaves, finely chopped ( Actual recipe calls for Parsley ) 

4 - 5 Garlic cloves, minced

Method :

In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour, yeast, sugar and salt. 

Make a well in the center of it and add olive oil followed by warm water. 

Combine together to form a dough and knead it for about 10 minutes. 

Place it in an oiled bowl and let it rise for an hour or until it doubles in size. 

Now knead the dough again for about 5 minutes and divide into 9 equal parts. 

Roll it into long tubes like and make a knot by folding over and under. 

Arrange the prepared knots in a baking tray and keep it aside for 10 minutes. 

Now bake it for 10 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree C. 

Meanwhile, prepare garlic butter by mixing all the ingredients given in "For Garlic Butter" and keep aside. 

Remove the knots from the oven and brush with garlic butter. 

Bake it again for 5 minutes and remove from the oven. 

Serve warm.

Serving Options :

Serve with Salsa or Sauce.

Crispy Spinach Using 5 Spice Powder

Looking for yummy, crispy and quick snack for kids using some healthy greens ? Then, check out my today's post which is prepared using Spinach leaves. This simple snack is a perfect party snack and can also be served as an evening snack for kids along with any varieties of dipping sauce. I have included 5 spice powder in this recipe along with all purpose flour to give a lovely taste and flavour to the snack. Including cold water rather than the regular one gives a crispy texture to the dish. Alternatively, the batter can also be refrigerated for few minutes before frying.

This recipe goes to a monthly event "Ssshh Cooking Secretly" and fried snacks is the theme of June month. I was paired with a fantastic blogger Amrita Iyer who blogs at thefoodsamaritan.com. She gave me Spinach and any flour of my choice as my secret ingredients. And I chose, maida / All purpose flour as my choice of flour to prepare this crispy and tasty quick snack.

Are you interested to know the secret ingredients which I gave to Amrita ? Then, click HERE. She used both the ingredients in a brilliant way and posted an interesting snack on her page.

Ingredients :

15 - 20 Spinach leaves
1 Cup All purpose flour
1 Tsp Baking powder
1 Tsp Five spice powder
1/2 Tsp Pepper powder
1 Cup Cold water
Salt to taste

Method :

Take All purpose flour in a bowl along with baking powder, five spice powder, pepper powder and salt.

Add cold water little by little and prepare a batter. ( The consistency should not be too thick or thin ).

Wash spinach leaves and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan for frying and simmer the flame.

Take one spinach leaf, dip it in the batter and carefully drop it in an oil.

Deep fry till it turns crispy and remove from the flame.

Repeat the process for the remaining leaves. ( Deep frying can also be done in batches ).

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Mayo or Tomato sauce.

Cheesy Haleem Toast

If you are in Hyderabad, Haleem is a must try dish during Ramadan season. Haleem is a delicious dish prepared using meat, wheat and spices along with a generous amount of ghee. It is usually served with lemon wedges and fried onions. A small bowl of Haleem will make your tummy full and gives an instant energy. Lots of vendors are famous here in selling Haleem in their unique flavour but my personal preferences are Pista house and Shah ghouse haleem. Every year, my leftover Haleem turns into Haleem Egg Dosa for breakfast and this year, tried an interesting cheesy toast using Shah ghouse Haleem. No doubt that as such the haleem gives a delicious rich taste but the richness got enhanced, when it was served as a toast along with Mozzarella cheese. This toast can be served as a breakfast or starter or evening snack along with Tomato sauce. Adjust the quantity of cheese and haleem according to your taste bud and being generous on both the ingredients will make your toast heavenly for sure :)

Ingredients :

2 Cups Haleem 

4 Bread slices 

2 Cups Mozzarella cheese, grated 

1/2 Cup Cheese, grated ( I have used Amul cheese cube in this recipe ) 

Chilli flakes 

Method :

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly on top of bread slice and place it on a hot tawa. 

Simmer the flame and cook it for a minute or till the cheese starts melting. 

Using butter knife, spread the cheese all over the slice and top it with Haleem. 

Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the haleem followed by red chilli flakes. 

Toast it in a low flame till the base of bread slice turns crispy. 

Once done, remove from the flame and repeat the process for the remaining slices. 

Serve hot. 

Serving Option :

Serve with Tomato sauce. 

Peas & Sausage stuffed Pastry Cup

It's almost a month I did blogging. May month was really hectic for me in both health and travel wise but still, the one event which I never miss is my favourite Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge which happens every month with an interesting theme. Likewise, our May month theme was Stuffed recipes and I was paired with a Wonderful blogger Sharanya Palanisshami from Sara's Tasty Buds. Peas and one ingredient of my choice were given as the secret ingredients by her and I chose sausage as my second ingredient. Likewise, Check out her page too to view an interesting recipe prepared by her using the secret ingredients given by me.

Sausage and Peas stuffed pastry cups is an interesting party snacks filled with pea - cheese puree and grated sausages. The fresh peas are boiled along with garlic pods and made into puree by adding cheese. I have added mozzarella cheese as it gives a nice texture to the puree. The sausages are sautéed along with fresh rosemary herbs which gives a lovely flavour to the snack. The cups are finally topped with more cheese and baked to get a delicious cheesy snack.

Ingredients :

1 Cup Green peas, fresh
4 Garlic pods, peeled
1/2 Cup Cheese, grated ( I have used Mozzarella )
2 Tbsp Oil or Butter
4 - 5 Sausages, grated
1 Tbsp Rosemary herbs, fresh and finely chopped
Salt to taste
Puff Pastry Roll ( I have used store bought Puff pastry Roll )

Method :

Boil green peas and garlic pods in a water.

Once it gets cooked, drain the water and cool it. ( The drained water can be used for kneading roti or used in rasam or sambhar to enhance the taste ).

Grind into puree by adding mozzarella cheese and little salt. Keep it aside.

Heat oil or butter in a pan and add grated sausages along with a little salt and rosemary herbs.

Saute for a minute and remove from the flame. Keep aside.

Now, take a puff pastry and roll into a rectangle shape.

Cut the pastry sheet into 6 equal squares.

Grease the muffin tray ( or use silicon muffin cups ) and place the square shaped puff pastry in each muffin moulds.

Now fill the cups with a little pea puree and then with sautéed sausages.

Finally top it with grated cheese.

Repeat the process for the remaining pastry cups.

Bake it for 25 - 30 mins at 180 degree C in a pre heated oven or till it turns crispy.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Tomato sauce. 

Tawa Toasted Besan Bread

This is a healthy version of a Bread bajji in which the besan batter dipped bread slices are toasted on a tawa with a less oil instead of deep frying. Green chilli and coriander leaves are made into fine paste and added to the besan flour is further made into batter by adding water. Then, the bread slices are dipped in the besan batter and toasted on the tawa with a minimal oil. This is a perfect evening snack for kids and also can be served as breakfast along with Mint chutney. Variations can be done in this recipe by adding grated carrots, beetroots etc which in addition also makes the toast more healthy. To make it more spicy, increase the addition of chilli or add 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder to the recipe.

Ingredients :

6 - 7 Bread slices 
1 Cup Besan flour 
1 Green chilly, chopped 
1/4 Cup Coriander leaves, chopped 
Less than 1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 
Less than 1/4 Tsp Hing powder 
Salt to taste 
3/4 - 1 Cup Water 

Method :

Cut the bread slices diagonally and keep aside.

Grind green chilli into fine paste by coriander leaves, turmeric powder and hing powder along with it.

Take besan flour in a bowl and add the ground paste.

Add the required amount of salt and add water little by little to prepare a batter.

Prepare a batter without any lumps and the consistency should be like a Dosa batter ( not too thick nor watery ).

Heat a non stick tawa and brush it with little oil.

Now take a slice of bread, dip it in the batter and place it on the tawa.

Smear little oil and cook both the sides in a medium flame.

Repeat the process for the remaining bread slices.

Once done, remove from the flame and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Mint Chutney.

Egg & Rice Baked Muffins

This is one of an interesting and healthy breakfast recipe which is prepared using eggs, bell peppers and rice. Mixed herbs and chilli flakes along with a grated cheese are added as the seasoning to this muffins. In this recipe, I have used three varieties of Bell peppers, since it was given as my secret ingredients by Shobana Keshwani in Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge group.

According to our February month challenge, we have to choose either Colorful recipe or Fusion cooking. Me and my partner Shobana, an amazing blogger from www.shobhasfoodmazaa.com chose colourful recipes as our theme. Check out her page to view an interesting, healthy and colourful Idlies prepared by her for this theme.

To enhance the flavour in this recipe, variations can also be made by adding garlic powder, shredded chicken, bacon, sausages, veggies like broccoli, mushroom etc. Adjust the quantity of the red chilli flakes according to taste bud and also this can be replaced with finely chopped green chillies. To make it more healthy, replace white rice using brown rice. This recipe can also be served as Kids lunch box recipe or evening snacks.

Ingredients :

4 Eggs 
1/2 Cup Coloured Bell Peppers, Finely chopped 
1/4 Cup Cooked Rice 
1 Cheese cube, grated
1 Tsp Mixed Italian herbs, dried
1 Tsp Red chilli flakes, adjust according to taste bud
Salt to taste 

Method :

Beat eggs in a large bowl.

Add finely chopped bell peppers followed by cooked rice, mixed herbs, red chilli flakes, salt and grated cheese.

Mix well and fill the silicon muffins cups or greased muffin tray with 3/4th of the egg batter.

Bake it for 20 - 25 minutes or until the center of muffins are cooked and no longer runny in a pre heated oven at 180 degree C.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Tomato or Red chilli sauce.

Beetroot Pancake Paniyaram Jamun

Posting an interesting recipe after so many days for this special Valentine month. Advance Valentine's day to all my readers. When you think of Valentine's day, Pink and red colours are the ones which flashes our mind. And also according to our January month theme in Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge, we have to post red coloured theme post, based on the secret ingredients given by our partner.

I was paired with a wonderful co-blogger Prathima Shivraj from parthusfood.com. She gave me beetroot and any flour of my choice as my secret ingredients for red coloured theme. Initially, I thought of preparing pancakes using beetroot as its my kid's favourite breakfast. But changed my thought and converted pancake into paniyaram / appe which is further soaked in a vanilla flavoured sugar syrup to give a delicious twist to a regular pancake.

Beetroot is cooked and made into fine puree is further mixed up with a pancake batter. I have also used dates syrup in this recipe, to make it more healthy, tasty and also to get a vibrant color. The addition of vanilla essence in a sugar syrup enhances the flavour of this sweet and also gives a lovely aroma while serving.

Ingredients :

1 Cup All purpose Flour 
3/4 Tbsp Baking powder 
3 Tbsp Powdered sugar 
1/4 Tsp Salt 
1 Cup Milk 
1 Egg 
1 Big Size Beetroot
2 Tbsp Dates Syrup 
2 Tbsp Olive oil / Melted Butter 

For Sugar Syrup :

1 Cup Sugar 
1 Cup Water 
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence 

2 Tbsp Almonds, grated for garnishing

Method :

Peel and chop the beetroot into small pieces.

Add 1 tbsp of water and microwave it for 4 - 5 minutes.  (Alternatively, chopped beetroot can also be steamed )

Puree the cooked beetroot and keep aside.

Mix all purpose flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a big bowl.

Mix well and keep aside.

Add milk followed by egg, date syrup, oil or butter and beetroot puree in a small bowl.

Beat well and add the wet mixture to the dry mixture ( flour ).

Gently fold both the dry and wet ingredients until it becomes batter with no lumps.

Heat a Appe pan / Paniyaram pan and grease the mould using butter or oil.

Pour the batter gently using spoon on each mould and cook both the sides in a low flame.

Once done, remove from the flame and repeat the process for the remaining batter.

Meanwhile. add sugar and water in a thick bottomed pan and bring it to boil.

Simmer the flame for 5 minutes and let it boil.

Now switch off the flame and add vanilla essence to the sugar syrup.

Drop the Beetroot Pancake paniyaram in a sugar syrup and let it soak for couple of minutes.

Once done, remove from the syrup and garnish with grated Almonds.

Serve hot or cold.

Serving Options :

Serve hot or cold with Ice-cream.

Maple Syrup Cake Balls / Maple Syrup Cake Paniyaram / GoIndiaOrganic Review

After my review on Chia seeds from GoIndiaOrganic for plattershare's Associate program, posting an interesting snack for kids using Maple Syrup. According to Wikipedia, Maple syrup is a syrup made from xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple or black maple trees. Maple syrup is often eaten with pancakes, french toast, waffles etc. In addition, this can also be substituted with honey while preparing grilled meat or chicken recipes. The one which i received for review from GoindiaOrganic is Coombs Family Farms's Organic Maple Syrup. It's a grade A dark coloured syrup with a robust taste.
The first taste of this syrup flashed out my memories of hongkong and seychelles. It tasted exactly the same with perfect level of sweetness and richness . This product has a superior quality with light and clear texture. Received this maple bottle without any damage and really appreciate the packaging of the product.The taste of the maple syrup is also not overbearing which can also be used in both cooking and baking purpose. Using this yummy ingredient, tried kids friendly snack Cake balls / Cake paniyaram which was a super hit among family members. The snack tasted heavenly when I dunked the balls in maple syrup.

Maple syrup cake balls is a easy and tasty snack prepared using maple syrup which is used as sweetener along with a tablespoon of brown syrup. According to the given quantity, this has a mild sweet taste, so adjust the quantity of maple syrup or brown sugar to one's taste bud.

Ingredients :

1 Cup All Purpose Flour / Maida 
1 Tsp Baking Powder
A Pinch of Salt 
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar ( Increase according to sweet tooth )
1 Egg 
1 Tbsp Cooking Oil 
2 1/2 - 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup 

Method :

Mix all the dry ingredients ( Maida, Baking powder and Salt ) in a bowl and keep aside.

Break the egg and add it to a bowl.

Beat well and add cooking oil followed by milk and brown sugar.

Blend well using beater and add the dry ingredients.

Mix well without any lumps.

Heat the appe pan / Kuzhipaniyaram pan, smear oil and fill the holes with 3/4th of batter.

Cook it in a lower flame and flip the other side using appe stick or toothpick.

Cook both the sides and remove from the flame.

Repeat the same procedure for the remaining batter.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Maple Syrup.

Click the below link to check out my other reviews on GoIndiaOrganic Food Products...

Savoury Egg & Chia Seeds Pudding 

Cucumber & Pinenuts Salad 

Oats & Peas Porridge 

Mango & Pineapple Salsa in Apple Chips

Summer in India is a season to enjoy mangoes and luckily we got this seasonal ingredient as our may month theme in our shhh secretly cooking challenge group. In this May month, I got paired with an amazing blogger Veena Krishnakumar from www.veenasvegnation.com . Apart from the main ingredient ( Mango ), we had to share to couple of secret ingredients and I got Apple and Pineapple as my secret ingredients. Using these three amazing healthy fruits, I prepared a tasty and easy party snack mango and pineapple salsa. Generally salsa is served in a canapes or biscuits, I had given a twist by served these salsa in apple chips as apple is one of my secret ingredient. I have to mention that this snack is a blend of mixed taste, as it contains sweet, sour, spicy, mild masala and mild bitter from apple chips. Innovative and healthy way to serve this for kids or during parties...

Ingredients :

10 Baked Apple Chips ( Click HERE for recipe )
1 Cup Mangoes, Ripe, Finely chopped
1 Cup Pineapple, finely chopped
1 Onion, Finely chopped
1 Tomato, de-seeded, finely chopped
2 Green chillies, finely chopped
Less than 1/4 Tsp Chat masala
A pinch of salt
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

Add the finely chopped mangoes in a bowl followed by pineapple, onion, tomato and green chillies.

Add chat masala and salt to the salsa.

Mix well and keep aside.

Arrange the baked apple chips in a tray and spoon in the salsa on each chips.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Serving Options :

Serve with fresh juice.