Tuna Spinach Cakes or Cutlets

When canned Tuna is made into a perfect appetizer: Tuna cakes.

While walking through the canned meat aisle in the stores and looking at the canned tunas, have you ever wondered how can you transform those canned tunas into a scrumptious dish? I used to think this whenever I glanced at those and never really got what will I make out of those. But now, I don’t have time to think about all these, as I will be seen busy snatching all the cans and putting in my cart. I finally figured out what I can do with these canned tuna meat, in fact I am now totally obsessed with them.

My refrigerator is seldom seen without these canned tunas stacked in it to make the magnificent tuna cakes, which I make often. I had taken these tuna cakes as the appetizer for the cooking meet up that I had attended last weekend and all the foodies there loved it. I introduced these as tuna cutlets but the foodies there instantly renamed it to tuna cakes as these resembled to crab cakes in preparation and looks. Honestly, even I loved the new name they gave it and even I started calling them as tuna cakes. Whatever you name these, one thing I can guarantee about these are, everyone will team up in saying this about tuna cakes: ‘These tuna cakes tastes incredible and are the perfect appetizer for any party’. If you have a different opinion please let me know, I would love to hear that.

The preparation of these tuna cakes are almost same like the meat cutlet that I had posted before, but I must admit tuna cakes tasted better than those with chicken or meat. As I make these often, I add different things each time, once I added spinach to the tuna mixture and it tasted really good with the green shades in the cakes. You could also make these without the spinach.

Tuna Cakes:

Ingredients:

For making the stuffing:

• Onion, large, chopped- 2
• Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Spinach- 2 cups (optional)
• Garam masala ( cardamom-2, cloves-2. cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch slice- mashed well or ground)- 1 tsp
• Chilly powder- 1tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Fennel powder- 2 tsp
• Starkist Chunk Light Tuna in Water - 12 oz
• Cilantro chopped- 1 handful
• Potatoes, boiled in water or microwaved until it is cooked through -2
• Vegetable oil- 2 tsp
• Salt- to taste

While frying:

• Egg white- of 2 eggs
• Bread crumbs(plain)- 2 cups or enough to coat the tuna cakes
• Vegetable oil- for frying

Instruction: 

• Boil 2 potatoes in water until the potatoes are fully cooked or cook in microwave. Peel the skin off and keep aside.
• In a wide non-stick pan or skillet, add oil, then add onions, salt and saute until it is translucent.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few minutes.
• Add the spinach and saute for a minute
• Now add the canned tuna and add garam masala, chilly powder, turmeric powder and fennel powder into the tuna and saute.
• Mix everything well, when the tuna is almost cooked, add chopped cilantro and remove from the flame.

• Now, add the cooked, peeled potatoes and mash it with a wooden fork or spoon until it is combined well with the tuna mixture.
• When the mixture is cooled, make medium sized balls out of these and flatten between the palm of your hands and keep aside.

Frying:

• In a deep frying pan, add enough oil required for frying.
• Whisk egg whites of 2 eggs in a small bowl.
• Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.
• Take each tuna balls, first dip it in the egg white and then gently roll it into the bread crumbs, coat it with the crumbs evenly.
• Fry the cakes in hot oil until golden brown.

These are the Tuna cakes without the Spinach: