Fish Cakes and finding balance in my kitchen...

How do you react to the news of complete destruction and chaos...one morning it is business as usual and you wake up in the morning, tired and ready for your morning chai and suddenly you hear whispers along the corridor of a Tsunami in Japan...living in the Bay Area, the probability of earth quakes is high and one pathetic feeling one is left with is - this could have been us (magnified by the fact that I had watched 2012 just this weekend). My prayers are with the people in Japan.
One way to distract myself from the myriad events happening around me is by immersing myself in things that relax me...my kitchen is a constant source of solace for me. I am not a heavy-duty cook and even though I have my "dream" kitchen, I don't spend hours and hours prepping, cooking and baking...I focus on getting quick healthy meals on the table fast. A lot of my dishes depend on Trader Joes and Whole Foods for their base ingredients. Being a lazy albeit  health conscious cook, one easy and nutritious meal I make for my son is Fish Cakes. We had been down to Mistral's one evening and he wolfed down their Fish Cakes and I designed my Fish Cakes around that concept with a couple healthy tweaks. You will need -

1. 1 can 365 White albacore tuna (packed in Spring Water)
2. 1 Boiled Sweet Potato
3. 1/2 Cup Finely Grated Vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrot)
4. 1/4 cup finely grated Onion
5. Handful of finely diced Cilantro leaves
6. Salt, Roasted Cumin Powder, Chaat Masala to Taste
7. 1/2 Cup Egg Wash
8. Almond Flour for Binding

In a mixing bowl mix the Boiled Sweet Potato, the tuna, grated vegetables, onions, cilantro and the spices. Add Salt ( I usually don't add any chili powder as this is a dish I make primarily for my little boy). I make round patties. Dip in Egg wash, Roll in Almond Powder and Shallow Fry in Canola or Olive Oil. Serve with Ketchup. I usually serve this with Alexia's Sweet Potato Fries and a yogurt cucumber dip to make it a complete balanced meal.This is one of K2's go to meal most weeks. He is happy because he gets something Fish, that is crunchy and yummy and I am really happy because he is getting healthy proteins, some hard hitting carbs ( from Sweet Potato) and a myriad of nutrients including beta carotene's, Omega-3 etc.

This dish goes to Akila's Kitchen where she is hosting -



The vegetarian version of this goes to  Versatile Kitchen who is hosting the Kid's Delight : Restaurant Creation, an idea concepted by Srivalli .
 For the vegetarian version, I simply omit the Fish and it is a vegetable cutlet that my son absolutely adores. I do try and add Red Beets when I am making the vegetarian version for the beautiful red colored cutlets. I use this mix in my semi-famous Bread Rolls that I make for my son.


The past 4 weeks have been blissful with my MIL feeding K2 all kinds of  great meals like vegetable parathas, Egg Dosas, Bread Rolls stuffed with beets, carrots and broccoli, vegetable cutlets. K2 is becoming very sophisticated (read : demanding) in terms of dinner requirements nowadays.
What have you been cooking for your family this week?