Tuna Croquettes

Deliciously crunchy tuna croquettes made from fresh tuna; a delight for your tastebuds!

Eat, drink and make merry! The season of festivals, summer barbeques, potlucks and parties are upon us. I even know a few of my friends who are already preparing lists and planning for Christmas and New Year.

I am not doing anything of that sort because the maximum I can plan ahead is for a week. So I tend to go with the flow figuring out things as and when it happens. And this weekend, I get to enjoy the liberty of ‘being fed’ rather than cooking and feeding others which I am doing all the time. The break is much anticipated….

So keeping in mind the mood of the upcoming season, I am planning on adding recipes that are perfect for entertaining. Most of these are dishes that feature highly every time I entertain at home; simple, delicious and can be prepped ahead. And I am starting the series with these delicious Tuna Croquettes.

There is nothing novel about tuna croquettes; it is one of the most common seafood snacks that you are likely to find across the globe. The flavours are often different depending on the cuisine and almost always made using canned tuna.

But today, we have some deliciously spicy tuna croquettes that have been made from fresh tuna fillets. The texture is different to what you would get with canned tuna; I find these croquettes lighter and melt in the mouth.

I learnt to make these from my mom and all those who hail from Kerala (especially if you have lived in Middle East) would identify with this. Nothing’s changed except that I used fresh tuna which actually makes a bit of a difference. If Panko breadcrumbs are available, do use it instead of regular breadcrumbs; you get a much crunchier coating.

These tuna croquettes can be prepped ahead and frozen if you are making a large batch. Make sure to roll in breadcrumbs and then freeze to avoid it from sticking to each other. You could also use the same mixture to make tuna burgers; just make patties instead of croquettes. In fact I do this all the time; reserve one half of the mixture for patties which makes delicious lunch boxes the next day.

And the perfect accompaniment for these crunchy delights is some pickled red onions and mint coriander chutney.

Do try it out and hope you enjoy it as much as we do. And if you make it, please do tag me on your social media posts #thespiceadventuress so that I could see it too.

Print Recipe

Tuna Croquettes

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Modern Indian, Seafood

Servings: 30 croquettes

Author: Dhanya Samuel

Ingredients

• 500 gm fresh tuna fillet
• 1 large potato approximately 300gm
• 1 medium red onion; finely chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves; finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger; finely chopped
• 2 green chillies; finely chopped
• 1/4 th tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• Salt to season
• ½ cup fresh coriander leaves; finely chopped
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs beaten well
• Freshly milled black pepper to season
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

• Boil the potatoes in salted water, mash and keep aside.
• Use a food processor or finely chop the onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies.
• Do the same for the tuna fillet too; do not over process or it goes pasty.
• In a large bowl, combine the tuna, onion mixture, mashed potatoes, spices and coriander leaves; season with salt. Combine well till all the ingredients are blended well.
• Form into small croquettes or patties; the choice of shape is entirely yours. Keep aside.
• Season the breadcrumbs and beaten eggs with salt and pepper.
• Dip each croquette in the egg wash and then roll well with breadcrumbs. Repeat for all others.
• Heat enough oil for deep frying in a large deep pan.
• Fry the croquettes in small batches till golden brown.
• Drain on a kitchen paper and serve warm with any dip of choice. (I served with a mint coriander chutney)

Notes

If you do not want to use all the tuna mixture at a time, then you can freeze the remaining for later use in an airtight container. You can also freeze after rolled in breadcrumbs but make sure you do not crowd the container.