Tuna Kebabs With Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Ya know those days when you just don’t wanna eat meat? Somehow you want something a little lighter? Well I had a day or two like that and searched through my cupboards to see what I could find as an alternative. I found a whopping can of tuna which I’d planned to make tuna salad with for my whole contingent of kids who were visiting and in the end, never used it. So, I decided to make tuna kebabs, something I’ve toyed with for awhile. The nice thing is that it’s a close cousin to a tuna croquette or patty but more interesting with lovely spices to lift it up from the ordinary.

These actually freeze quite nicely and I’ve used them to make a sandwich to take to work eating them cold with mustard as well as having hot out of the pan with a side of rice and salad. Either way is delightful and a nice change from chicken or meat.

You can make a smaller batch of course, but knowing how DH loves his tuna patties, I boldly went for the big can.

So gather your ingredients and let’s go!

I decided to try to use the sort of spices which go well with regular meat kebabs, playing around and was very pleased. Now this couldn’t be easier to throw together since I put it all in the food processor, pulsing away. But first take your huge can or small cans of tuna and drain well.

I used tuna in water but you can use it in oil and drain and rinse briefly in a colander to get rid of excess oil, as you wish. Then peel and quarter your onion and into the processor it goes.

Give it a whirl till chopped fairly fine but not liquidy. Add the tuna, spices, eggs and breadcrumbs and pulse pulse pulse just till a thick consistency is formed, like so:

Excellent. Now you can let it sit a bit, around 10-15 minutes to let meld and have breadcrumbs absorb the liquids. While that happens, prepare the yogurt dipping sauce. Place the yogurt in a bowl, add the lemon juice, crushed garlic and parsley and salt and stir. Set aside to let flavors marry in fridge.

Now your “batter” is ready to go. Form with your hands (I use my latex gloves) into nice kebab shapes and lay on parchment paper next to the stovetop to be near frying pan so that you can fry one batch after the other. Now I do drain on paper towels since they tend to be eaten right away but if not, drain on wire racks. Place oil in a frying pain (shallow frying, not too deep) bring to hot temp and begin frying in batches without crowding the pan since it drops the oil temp and you’ll get soggy kebabs, not a thing to be desired.

Fry about 3-5 minutes on each side or till browned and crispy and the scent drives you mad.

You may feel compelled to taste test them before serving, just sayin’. Serve right out of the pan, equally yum room temp but crispiest hot out of the pan. Serve with chopped cucumbers and tomato and onion with a splash of olive oil and salt and of course, the yogurt dipping sauce. A lovely meal.

Tuna Kebabs With Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Kebabs:

1 teaspoon cumin 
1 teaspoon turmeric 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
1/2 a teaspoon ground ginger 
1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
1 teaspoon crushed garlic 
1 small onion peeled and quartered
1 huge can 700 grams drained weight of tuna in water (or oil, rinsed and drained) OR 7 cans tuna, drained 
2 eggs 
2 cups breadcrumbs 
Oil for frying 

Yogurt dipping sauce:

1 200 ml container plain unsweetened white yogurt (approximately one cup)
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

Yields 24 nice size kebabs 

Directions:

Peel and quarter your onion and place in bowl of food processor. Process till finely chopped but not liquidy. Add the drained tuna and all the spices, the eggs and breadcrumbs and pulse together till a thick pasty consistency is formed. Let sit about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare yogurt dipping sauce.

Stir yogurt in a bowl with parsley, garlic, salt and lemon juice till well combined, place in fridge till ready to use.

Place piece of parchment paper near stovetop and form batter into kebab shapes. Place 2 tablespoons (replenish as needed) into frying pan and heat to medium high. Carefully place kebabs in pan (don’t overcrowd or they drop heat of oil and get soggy) and fry 3-5 minutes on both sides or till nicely browned and crispy. . Continue till all batter is used up. Drain on paper towels if eating immediately or wire racks in there’s down time. These are crispiest hot out of the pan but very good room temp as well. Can be frozen for about a month, separate with parchment paper. Very nice served with dipping sauce, an Israeli salad and you can make some nice rice to go with as well.