Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes
A crunchy, spiced, almond coating envelopes salmon and potatoes in these Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes – making them a healthier Sri Lankan “Short eat”!
I’m not quite sure where the term “Short eats” originated from, but, growing up in Sri Lanka, when I was asked if I wanted to grab some short eats, I knew not to say no because short eats always seemed to involve little tidbits of delicious, sometimes savory, sometimes sweet, snacks!
When it came to Sri Lankan Short Eats, the simple fish cutlet (or croquette) has always been my favorite. Not only are they super simple to make but they are downright delicious! I once stumbled on a quote by someone who likened a fish cutlet to a little “grenade of breaded and fried fish and potato that hits your mouth with a flavor explosion!” Yup, I’d say that sums it up!
And, when it comes to fish cutlets, my mom is a pro! Even people who are not fans of spicy foods, succumb to the allure of my mom’s fish cutlets and they tend to have a hard time at stopping with just one!
As much as I love indulging in those deep fried balls of fish and potatoes on occasion, they are not something I like to serve up all the time. So, over the years, I’ve come up with baked versions of those fried balls. I’ve shared a few veggie versions on here such as these Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens Croquettes as well as these Baked Lentil Spinach Croquettes.
But today, I have a simple, Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes for y’all. Now, when I say spicy, I don’t mean the kinda spicy where you are gonna need to empty a well of water to get over. What I mean by spicy is that I use quite a bit of spices such as cumin, coriander and ginger in the croquettes and in the coating to jazz up their flavor so you won’t miss the fact that these are not deep fried.
These baked croquettes are quickly becoming a staple around our house for holiday get-togethers, as well as game-day hang outs. With Easter on the horizon, I am going to be adding a batch of these to my Easter Lunch menu – to be served with some sambal oelek and tamarind and date sauce. My daughter mixed the two sauces together and I must say the result was spectacular and went so well with these Salmon Potato Croquettes.
I am one of those cooks that has someone else do the tasting, and simply ignore my hunger pangs while I’m pulling together a meal, which leads to an awful headache. My daughter says hunger headaches are so sneaky as they creep up on you when you haven’t eaten – but, then they kill your appetite because who wants to eat with a headache?! Instead of calling it quits on the menu prep and ordering take out, I make sure to have Excedrin® Extra Strength (for everyday headaches) on hand for moments like this.
Ingredients
Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes
- Two 6oz cans of salmon (in water preferably)
- 2 boiled potatoes (skin removed)
- ½ a medium yellow onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1-2 teaspoons chili flakes (according to preference/taste)
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ cup thawed frozen peas
- ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro chopped up
- For the coating:
- 1 cup lightly salted almonds
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 egg
Tamarind Date Sauce
- 4 tablespoons Tamarind Date Paste
- 3 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes
- Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash them well with a fork – then add in the salmon, diced yellow onion, diced garlic, coriander, cumin, chili flakes, grated ginger, peas, lemon juice, cilantro and salt and pepper and mix well.
- Form into balls and prep the coating.
- Place the almonds in a food processor or blender and pulse till the almonds are a rough “powder” then mix in the cumin and coriander and place on a plate.
- Beat the egg well.
- Then, dip the Salmon Potato Croquettes into the egg mixture with one hand and use the other hand to roll them in the almond coating.
- Heat oven to 425 degrees and then place the coated Salmon Potato Croquettes in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with sambal oelek and Tamarind Date Sauce.
Tamarind Date Sauce
- As the croquettes are baking, you can prep Tamarind Date Sauce by adding the Tamarind Date paste along with the water, cumin, coriander, ginger powder and Pinch of salt to a microwave safe bowl and mixing well. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds till slightly warm and serve.
Ingredients
Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes
- Two 6oz cans of salmon (in water preferably)
- 2 boiled potatoes (skin removed)
- ½ a medium yellow onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1-2 teaspoons chili flakes (according to preference/taste)
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ cup thawed frozen peas
- ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro chopped up
- For the coating:
- 1 cup lightly salted almonds
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 egg
Tamarind Date Sauce
- 4 tablespoons Tamarind Date Paste
- 3 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Baked Spicy Salmon Croquettes
- Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash them well with a fork - then add in the salmon, diced yellow onion, diced garlic, coriander, cumin, chili flakes, grated ginger, peas, lemon juice, cilantro and salt and pepper and mix well.
- Form into balls and prep the coating.
- Place the almonds in a food processor or blender and pulse till the almonds are a rough “powder” then mix in the cumin and coriander and place on a plate.
- Beat the egg well.
- Then, dip the Salmon Potato Croquettes into the egg mixture with one hand and use the other hand to roll them in the almond coating.
- Heat oven to 425 degrees and then place the coated Salmon Potato Croquettes in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with sambal oelek and Tamarind Date Sauce.
Tamarind Date Sauce
- As the croquettes are baking, you can prep Tamarind Date Sauce by adding the Tamarind Date paste along with the water, cumin, coriander, ginger powder and Pinch of salt to a microwave safe bowl and mixing well. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds till slightly warm and serve.
Short eats sound amazing! I’ve never heard of the term before… but if short eats look like these croquettes, then I’m on board! You know I love all of your croquette recipes and this is no exception, Shashi! Hunger headaches totally sneak up on you! Thanks for sharing a good way to fight those pains. Wishing you and your daughter an awesome weekend! xo
I’ve never heard of the term ‘short eats’, but it’s so cute! Based on your description, I’m allllll about short eats. I love little bits and bites and often times would much rather that than a big meal. Little bit of this, little bit of that, ya know? Love that these are baked (which means that they are guilt free, which, in turn, means I can eat more, lol). And those spices? Talk about flava!! As for the hunger headaches, sometimes I’ll go without eating and not even realize it, especially on Saturday when I’m running around, busy. Then, all of a sudden I realize how hungry I am when I get that dang headache. Just got to remember to eat! If I had some of these delicious croquettes handy, that would solve the problem 😉 Have a great week, Shashi! XO
Looks delish. Never had salmon croquettes, I think just potato and ham. Unique dish!
I have a fish loving family and I am sure they would love these baked fish balls. And that almond coating sounds fabulous. Love how nice, crispy and awesome they look, Shashi.
These croquettes look divine!
I’ve never heard the term ‘short eats’ before, but I love it! TOTALLY using that one in the future! And I happen to love me some fish cutlets, so if your mother wants to make me some, let me know. 🙂 Hehe. Anyways, you are definitely the croquette queen, and these spicy salmon croquettes are faaaabulous! I love that you coated them in almonds! AND since they are healthy baked, I can eat at least a dozen of these in one sitting! Wahoo! Cheers, dear – to a wonderful weekend!
Gosh, I used to love potato croquettes when I was little. But they were just mashed potato covered in bread crumbs and deep fried.
Now yours Shashi, look like there’s a whole lot of amazing flavours bursting forth there. 🙂
BTW – that’s good headache stuff. Lynne needed headache relief when we were in San Francisco and these sure did the trick!
I see why these croquettes have been your favorite, Shashi! They are amazing:) You know what? I haven’t tried them yet, but they are already my favorite too:) The combo of salmon, potato, peas, and spices is just right. And I do love the fact you baked them.
OOOH these looks so very delicious. And I think I could pull them off too, which is a big bonus for me. haha Thanks for sharing this recipe! {client}
Can never get enough salmon! And we’re just about to get good supplies of wild salmon in the stores — can’t wait!
These croquettes look really yummy, Salmon is so good for you too!
Yum! These look so delicious! Nothing beats a good finger food!
You are indeed the Croquette Queen, Shashi! I mean look at these amazing bites…I’d go for these short eats any day of the week! (Did I use ‘short eats’ correctly there? I love that term!) We’ve been on a salmon kick lately here, but most of ours has involved the grill. I need to bake up some of these croquettes soon though! Oh, and I need to check out that Tension Headache Excedrin. Believe it or not, Robbie clanging two of his metal pots together can sometimes lead to a late afternoon headache. (Surprising, right?) Hope you and lil Shashi are having a great week! Only a couple weeks left in her high school career now…oh, where do the years go??
I love croquettes. I make fish but never made salmon. Sounds so good. I suffer from constant headaches… I need to look for this Excedrin.. Sounds like something I need to keep on hand.
Yum! I haven’t had salmon croquettes in a very long time. These look much better than the croquettes I used to eat. I also need to try out Excedrin. Sounds like a great cure for a headache.
Love salmon! These baked fish balls look awesome, Shashi.