Tandoori Spiced Salmon Cakes

Carrots and CakeHayyyyy friends. I’ve got another recipe to share with you today, this time, I wanted to focus on creating something that was budget friendly and easy to make. The result, tandoor spiced salmon cakes. The major protein in this recipe comes canned salmon which can typically range from $2.50 – $3.50 (Cdn) per can. A pretty sweet deal if you ask me!

In our home, I’m the only fish eater. The hubs has made it loud and clear that he’s “allergic” (ahem, liar) to any form of seafood. Because of this, I tend not to splurge on seafood and often settle for canned varieties in single servings to help me meet my 2 servings of fish per week. Salmon also has a number of health benefits, here are only a few:

  • it’s loaded with heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids
  • excellent source of calcium (from the bones)
  • it’s also one of the few foods that offer up vitamin D
  • it’s super anti-inflammatory and therefore helps to protect the health of all the tiny cells that make up your body

The inspiration for these salmon cakes came from the Food Network. I knew immediately I wanted to add an Indian flair to their version so I set out for some Patak’s Tandoori Paste. This popular paste can be found at most grocery store retailers in the ethnic food aisle. A little bit of this paste goes a long way! I also added my favorite spices: garam masala, coriander and ground cumin.
Carrots and Cake, Nita ShardaNita Sharda, Carrots and Cake

CAUTION: we learned a lot while developing this recipe. Keep these two pieces of advice in mind: 

  1. DO NOT use the food processor, blender or beaters to create the mixture. Let me tell you, that’s a recipe for an epic fail!
  2. Make sure you thoroughly drain the liquid from the salmon cakes.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Tandoori Spiced Salmon Cakes
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 7.5 oz cans salmon, drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn, thawed or canned corn
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs + ¼ cup panko bread crumbs in a shallow plate
  • 2 Tbsp tandoori paste
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • Pinch of ground black pepper
  • 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients (first ten) into a bowl. Mix together using a fork until all ingredients are combined.
  2. Shape into 2" or 3" patties and then press salmon cakes into the breadcrumbs, coating both sides well.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe nonstick skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the salmon cakes and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  4. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cakes are heated through. About 5 - 8 minutes more.

Feel free to garnish your salmon cakes with some plain yogurt that has been spiced with salt, black pepper and some chilli powder. And of course, garnish with more fresh cilantro. These salmon cakes are great on a bed of greens, over a naan and I’ve also enjoyed gobbling it up solo.

Carrots and Cake, Nita ShardaCarrots and Cake, Nita ShardaFood photography done by the talented Ceone Dyck. To learn more about Ceone click here or follow her on Facebook.

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                 – With Love, Carrots and Cake,

Carrots and Cake Nita Sharda

GNI Feature: Almond Crusted Salmon with Gourmet Inspirations

 

Nita Sharda, Carrots and Cake

Thanks to Gourmet Inspiration!

For the girls night in I hosted, I had my foodie friend Peter Fehr of Gourmet Inspirations help me serve up a few appetizers using his handmade finishing sauce, Strawberry Balsamic with Basil. Let me tell you, if anything was a hit that night, it was this baby right here. Perfectly cooked, crunchy and flavorful is exactly what this dish was. But, to be honest–I wouldn’t expect anything short of perfection from Peter. I’m excited for him to continue sharing his product with the world and wish him all the success (don’t worry, more to come with Peter in future posts)!

Salmon is loaded with a bounty of nutrients. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids it offer a TON of anti-inflammatory properties for our body. It also serves as a source of vitamin D and is an excellent choice for lean protein. There are so many ways to cook up salmon–you can grill it, poach it, pan-fry it, bake it or even steam it. For this recipe, we created a crunchy crust by processing almonds and submerging the salmon into it. I wouldn’t have had it any other way! For the purpose of serving this dish “appie style” we opted to slice the salmon into strips and just before serving, Peter arranged them beautifully into bite size pieces.

Thank you Peter for lending a hand, sharing your passion and getting us inspired. Recipe below: 
GNI Feature: Almond Crusted Salmon with Gourmet Inspiration
 
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Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 2 salmon filets, skinned
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • All purpose flour as needed (approx ½ cup)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ cup sliced raw almonds (or slightly pulsed), spread on a shallow plate
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 Tbsp. Gourmet Inspirations’ Strawberry Balsamic with Basil Sauce
  • 2 fresh strawberries for garnish
Instructions
  1. Season salmon with salt and pepper
  2. Dredge one side of salmon in flour
  3. Dip that same side in the beaten egg
  4. Press salmon with sliced almonds (on the egg/floured side only)
  5. Flash fry in olive oil on a shallow pan, set to medium-high heat (approximately 2 minutes)
  6. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until salmon is cooked through
  7. Top salmon with strawberry balsamic sauce
  8. Garnish with a fresh sliced strawberry
Carrots and Cake, Nita Sharda

Visit http://gourmetinspirations.ca/ to find out how you can get your hand on this finishing sauce.

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Photo credit goes to my friends at Samba Joy – Photo & Art. They-da-bomb!

p.s. If you haven’t already checked it out, this is a short snippet of what my #gni looked like. Enjoy!

 

                 – With Love, Carrots and Cake,

Carrots and Cake Nita Sharda