Fish Cutlet Scotch Egg

This not-so-little snack seemed like a no-brainer to me. When I was younger, my dad would head to the supermarket and Tamil food shops on the same trip, coming back with both Scotch eggs and short eats like fish cutlets. I obviously had to put the two together to make the perfect fish cutlet Scotch egg, with a gooey yolk right in the middle.

Time to create: 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • Potatoes – 400g (peeled and cubed)

  • White onions – 2 (finely diced)

  • Green chillies – 2 (finely diced)

  • Garlic cloves – 4 (finely diced)

  • Ginger – 1 small thumb-sized piece (grated)

  • Curry leaves – 10–12 (roughly chopped)

  • Tinned tuna or mackerel – 290g

  • Ground black pepper – 1 tsp

  • Ground cumin – ½ tsp

  • Eggs – 6

  • Ice – a handful

  • Flour – 100g

  • Golden breadcrumbs or panko – 150g (I use a combination of both)

  • Oil – for frying

Method

  1. Add the potatoes to a saucepan of heavily salted cold water. Bring to the boil and cook until fork-tender. Drain and leave to steam for a few minutes. Mash the potatoes and set aside.

  2. Finely dice the onions, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies. Grate the ginger.

  3. Fry the ginger, garlic, curry leaves, green chillies and onions for about a minute. Add the black pepper and cumin, then mix. Season with salt.

  4. Add the mashed potatoes and drained fish, then gently mix everything together. Set aside to cool.

  5. Boil four eggs for 5 minutes. Once done, transfer them to a bowl of iced water. Once cooled, peel the eggs.

  6. Portion the cutlet mixture into four equal portions and shape each into a rough ball.

  7. Flatten each ball until it’s about half a centimetre thick. Place an egg in the middle, then bring the fish mixture around it to completely cover the egg. At this point, you can put the balls in the freezer briefly to make coating them a little easier.

  8. Whisk two eggs in a bowl, add flour to a tray and breadcrumbs in another tray. Dip the balls into the eggs then into breadcrumbs and ensure they are fully coated. 

  9. Heat enough oil in a saucepan to submerge the balls. To check if the oil is ready, place the handle of a wooden spoon into it—it’s ready once bubbles start to form around the spoon.

  10. Deep-fry until golden brown, usually about 3–4 minutes.

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