Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Canned Tuna stir fried with grated coconut/ Canned Tuna Peera

 I still remember the first time I had canned tuna with coconut at my aunt’s place.  She cooked it with tuna-in-coconut-milk or oil, some brand from Taiwan.  I was clearly not excited.  In fact, I did not like it at all.  My mom and cousins raved and ranted, and helped themselves to more when I stuck with whatever else was on the table.  Being in the U.S. now, I eat a lot of canned tuna as salad, cutlets/fish-cake and thoran too.  Yeah, I love it now!  The efficiency with respect to time and ease of preparation all makes canned tuna a smart option.  However, one thing that has not changed for me is the aversion to tuna in oil.  I always select the "chicken in the sea" based in water.  That’s what I love and I recommend highly.

Meen Peera

  As for a general weather report, it is getting colder and the gloom persists outside my window.  The chipmunks continue to rattle and cheer up things with constant playing, and prayer (sitting on two legs with the other two joined in front of their chest) on my patio.  But since I got my plants in with the dropping temperature, I don’t police them anymore and hence miss a lot their fun.  Instead, I immerse myself in crochet and reading or that’s what I tell people to sound like I am purposeful.  In reality, the weather is just the kind to sit around, drink pots of cider, green tea, or an occasional black coffee and be.  Even better is to curl up on the sofa with the express purpose of reading and snoozing hoping the information from the book held close to me will in some way carry over into my brains.     

  Hoping you are doing better than me, if not, make tuna thoran.  Cheers! 

Meen Peera

 Ingredients:

Tuna                     - 2, 5 Oz can (about 300 gms) drained of all water
Onions                  - 1 small (about 3/4 cup when chopped)
Green Chilies        - 6 nos
Ginger                  - 1 inch piece (about 1 Tbspn when chopped fine)
Mustard               - 1/4 tspn
Oil                       - 1/2 Tbspn 
Kudampuli/Gambooge               - 1 piece soaked in water for atleast 15 minutes.  Do not throw the water, you will use some to sprinkle to keep the moisture and incorporate flavors evenly
Turmeric              - 1/2 tspn
Salt                      - to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil and splutter mustard
2. Add chopped ginger, onions and green chili.  Saute for a couple of minutes and stir in curry leaves and saute
3. Follow with turmeric..
4. Add coconut, kokum (drained from the water and split into smaller pieces,this helps to express it's sourness better) and tuna
5. Break the tuna and mix in well with the spoon/spatula and keeping fire on low sprinkle about a tablespoon of water the kokum was soaking in and salt.
6. Let everything sit in the pan on the lowest heat/fire and cook for 5 minutes.  This will help to incorporate the taste of the ginger and kokum into the fish.  If you cannot bring the heat very low be sure to add a little more water to avoid burning.

Contributor Sunitha

33 comments:

  1. I love tuna...looks so yummy!

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  2. Simply great thoran with canned tuna...

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  3. I love tuna.. we usually add it in pasta.. this sounds interesting..

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  4. When my moms sis used to bring tinned tuna and when they raved aobut the dish i was like disgusting food.
    But have to say after comming ehre i started apriciating it and now love then in sandwitches etc....
    Never tried to cook them with.
    This looks so so good.

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  5. Delicious tuna thoran..We have it in our drafts too..

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  6. You elevated tuna to such a festive, beautiful dish - I'm so impressed!

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  7. This is really a tasty dish...looks so delicious and delectable!!!

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  8. my husband loves canned tuna but am yet to develop a taste for it. but if anyone makes this I would be happy to oblige myself with not only second but also with third helpings.

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  9. I love canned Tuna. Such a lovely way of doing it. I have some flaked crab meat (essentially flaky fish). I was wondering if your recipe will work with that? In that case..yay ..what a nice new dinner :)

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  10. Tuna fish pasta is one of my fav...can't wait to try recipe...loving ur 2nd click!

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  11. I do whenever i dont have fish in my freezer, we call it as tuna puttu..delicious stir fry..

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  12. Never tried tuna thoran..looks delicious,will soon give this a try

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  13. Im even worse sunitha..i watch brainless programmes like desperate housewives and brothers and sisters and cook just one meal a day that too with great difficulty..sigh!
    i think you are way better off.
    On another note...i used 2 hate tuna till a year back and now i dont mind if its tuna mayo in a sandwich and cutlets which i dont make any more due to sheer laziness.

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  14. Sunitha,

    Tuna thoran adipoli. Yes cold is getting here to not so bad.

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  15. Yumm! You should post this recipe on Wild Planet Food's Facebook wall. They are a sustainable seafood company and are having a contest for best tuna recipe. Winner gets a case of sustainable seafood. Looking forward to reading more of your recipes!!

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  16. I have tried canned sardine in curry but tuna is new to me...must try!

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  17. not yet tried tuna yet at home....sounds tempting...

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  18. another great way to use a simple can of tuna :)

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  19. tuna preparation looks delicious...though I'm not fond of tuna

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  20. Beautiful dish..I am totally loving the flower shaped bowl:)

    US Masala

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  21. Never ate tuna but looks really good.

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  22. Nice click.Looks delicious & tempting.


    Madhura Manoj@

    http://www.easycookingforamateurs.com/

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  23. tuna peera looks yummy..want to try it some day....

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  24. Nice preparation but i dont eat tuna...healthy n yummmm

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  25. Sunitha..I tried this yesterday with immitation crab meat (fish). Turned out real nice:)

    Thanks for posting

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  26. I have not tried with canned tuna. Looks very delicious.The weather is also getting very cold here. Need to make this to cheer up. I don't get to see chipmunks here but rabbits...hopping around. Keep yourself warm. MaaryMoh at http://www.keeplearningkeepsmiling.com

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