Goan fish cutlets

It’s been quite a week fellow-bloggers and friends. I’ve been consumed with eating, sleeping and dreaming about WordPress.  I decided to take the Blogging 101 course online to tweak and refine my site, and it has proved to be invaluable.  There are daily assignments, interactions with the instructors and fellow bloggers from around the world.  I’d highly recommend it!

On another note, when dear Nandini first asked me to do a guest post for her blog, I happily obliged.  We had both met via the blogging world and share the same roots from Goa.  But having never lived in Goa myself, I always found myself trekking around her blog and feeling the old cravings return when going through some of her posts featuring Goan cuisine.  Nandini has a great blog, she explains the Goan culture and history pretty well, she posts a wide selection of Goan dishes and visits Goa pretty frequently.  I do believe I’ve already made reference to her blog on one of my previous postings.  Click here to learn a bit more about the Goan culture and food on her blog.  When I first learned that Nandini imported some of these wonderful spices and masalas all the way from Goa, I was hellbent on finding out how I could get some of them in my own kitchen.  Today’s recipe for fish cutlets has the popular Goan vinegar which is very hard to find anywhere else, but in Goa.  It is made from the toddy of the coconut tree.  This vinegar is used in a variety of  dishes in Goa.  Those familiar with Goan cuisine, will know the ever famous vindaloo dish that originated in Goa.  Vindaloo is made with the Goan vinegar, as is the Recheado masala I used for the fish cutlets.   I think you will find Nandini’s explanation of how the vinegar is produced very interesting.  Click on the word vinegar.

You can order some of these spices and pastes from Nandini’s website, Goan Imports.  Using Recheado masala in the fish gave the cutlets a wonderful tangy, spicy and authentic taste which is sure to please every palate.  Click on the above links to learn more.   I also used the cafarel masala/paste to make a spicy ground chicken shepherd’s pie for last night’s dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs cooked tilapia or any white fish
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 beaten egg
• a handful of cilantro finely chopped (fresh coriander)
• 1/2 jalapeno finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cream of wheat or panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 can of sardines
• 1 potato cooked and mashed
• 1 tablespoon Recheado Masala (more to suit your taste)
• salt and pepper
• oil for pan frying

Method

1. Squeeze the liquid from the cooked fish, breaking it apart with a fork.
2. My secret ingredient in the fish cutlets is half a can or a can of sardines.  My mother in law used to make hers this way; I find it really adds additional flavor to the fish.
3. Boil the potato, mash it and add to the fish.  It makes it softer inside and easier to form.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients, onion, cilantro, egg, jalapeno, recheado masala, salt, pepper.
5. Form into individual cutlets, coat with panko breadcrumbs or cream of wheat and pan fry.

There you have it friends, Goan fish cutlets – serve it with a dry lentil curry ,chickpea curry or any other curried vegetable.  A meatless, healthy meal, just the ticket for a cold winter’s day.  Visit Nandini’s blog site for more information on Goan foods, Goa’s culture and general information on this beautiful state in India.

I’m heading over to Angie@The Novice Gardener  with another contribution for FF #50 this week.  Her two lovely co-hosts Selma@Selma’s Table and Sue@BirgerBird will welcome everyone with their contributions.  Be sure to click on their links to take you to their wonderful blogs.