Cheesy tuna and vegetable croquettes

 During Ramadhan, some of us forget to eat our vegetables. I don't know about you but if you think about it, in the old days the only time a vegetable would go into our bodies is in mas huni, non of the snacks had any form of vegetable in except cutlets and bis keemiya. According to Jamie Oliver, potato is not a vegetable it is a starch so I guess it doesn't count. 

So each Ramadhan I try to add a snack that has a vegetable in it, so today I am sharing a recipe for a tuna and vegetable croquette. 

In Tarla Dalal's Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, there is a recipe for vegetable croquettes. So I took that as the base for my recipe. Being Maldivian I know most of us would want a fish going into this so I added a small amount of tuna just to satisfy the husband's palette.  I used a frozen vegetable mix, which makes life so much easier as it is cheaper, less time to prep. You can also use canned vegetable mix, which is also available in most shops, big or small. Everything is mixed up and cooked on a stove top to release its flavours and then cooled and shaped into croquettes. 

Then  I slipped a cube of mozzarella cheese into the centre of the croquette. So these need to be fried just before serving as they need to be warm when you serve them so you can enjoy the stringy cheese. If it goes cold the joy of eating stringy cheese is gone. So make ahead, but leave the deep frying until it is almost time to break your fast.

Of course, this is breaded and fried so makes the perfect snack for all ages. Be sure to have some chilli sauce or ketchup to serve with them. 

Yield: 10-12

Author: Nammi

Cheesy tuna and vegetable croquettes

Prep time: 1 H & 30 MCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 2 Hour

Ingredients

• 1 large potato, 300g, boiled and mashed
• ½ cup frozen vegetable, thawed or canned vegetable
• ½ can of tuna, drained and flaked
• 10 curry leaves, finely chopped
• ½ inch ginger, grated
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• ¼ - ½ scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• Mozzarella cheese , cut into small rectangular pieces.
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 egg
• ½ regular glass of water
• Dried bread crumbs
• Oil for deep frying + extra 2 tbsp to cook the filling

Instructions

1. Place the thawed vegetables in a processor or wet grinder and chop finely. Not a paste, so don’t add water.
2. Heat a pan with 2 tbsp oil and add the onions and saute to soften them, then add the tuna, scotch bonnet, curry leaves and ginger and stir fry on medium heat.
3. Add pepper and ½ tsp salt and then mix in the chopped-up vegetables and tuna. Stir to mix so most of the liquid is evaporated.
4. Finally, add the mashed potato and carefully mix it through, taste and adjust seasoning and then cool the mixture.
5. Once the mixture is cooled using wet hands, take a small piece of the mixture and flatten it,( see above pictures) then place a piece of mozzarella cheese in the centre and carefully fold the mixture around the cheese. Give a slight squeeze to shape and tighten the ball into an oval shape and flatten the ends slightly. Repeat with the rest.
6. Make a batter by mixing the flour, egg, and water.
7. Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate( about 1 cup).
8. Dip each croquette in the batter, then roll in the bread crumbs.
9. Heat the fryer with oil for deep frying, once hot, bring the heat to medium and carefully add the croquettes into the oil and deep fry until dark golden brown.
10. Fry in batches, drain on kitchen paper.
11. These are best enjoyed while still hot or warm as you want the cheese to ooze out and go stringy when you bite into them, just don’t burn your mouths.

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