fritters Archives - Page 2 of 2

Brown paper bags make me happy! Grease stained, slightly crumpled and smelling of fried goodness, they have always bought me joy as a little girl. During school vacations when we visited my grandparents I would wait impatiently for my grandfather to come back from his morning walk. He would return holding a paper bag that had my favourite things in it.

I have to admit, Pumpkin is something I have started to enjoy recently. Though, I don’t love it yet there is no denying that Pumpkin recipes are everywhere at this time. Particularly sweet ones. So I decided to go savory and post something which would require minimal effort and can be made without an oven. These fritters are so delicious..even non pumpkin lovers will enjoy them.

I did not have access to canned pumpkin puree, so I have used frozen pumpkin (approx 400g) that has been microwaved on high for 7 minutes and mashed with a fork. You can use the processor to make a fine puree. I wanted to leave little bits and chunks of pumpkin so I used a fork.

The yeast action makes them light and fluffy. You can make them into any size by adjusting the batter that is dropped into the oil. Any seasoning will work too. I love the combination of coriander, mint, onion and chillies since the fritters that I ate as a child would primarily have all these ingredients. Feel free to make your additions and leave out the chillies if you want to avoid heat. They taste best with a chutney which is available in most supermarkets these days. Otherwise tomato ketchup or sweet chilli sauce will also do…we want an accompaniment which will have sweet spicy tangy kind of flavours.

Pumpkin Fritters (minimally adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine)
serves 6

1 cup pumpkin puree
11/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp white sugar
150 ml milk
1 egg, lightly whisked
1/2 onion, finely chopped
¼ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
a handful mint leaves, finely chopped
2 long green chillies, finely chopped
salt and pepper to season
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Combine flour, yeast, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl, then stir in milk and egg. Stir through onion, coriander, mint, green chilli, pumpkin and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper and salt(to taste). Cover and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size (1 hour).

Heat vegetable oil in a large deep saucepan or deep fryer to 180 degrees C. Deep-fry spoonfuls of batter in batches, turning once, until golden (4-5 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper and serve immediately with tomato chutney (or ketchup/sweet chilli sauce)

For as long as I can remember, I have associated rains with comfort food. And comfort for me means warm, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, deep-fried, with a hint of spice…that kind of food. The category of food that best fits this kind of craving would be fritters, beignets or pakoras as they are called in India. And, that’s not all! You did know about my little sweet tooth, didn’t you..? So, I next visualise the deep-fried fritters tossed in sugar and spice and then drizzled with honey or some kind of a rich sauce and then served with ice cream on the side. Oh…why am I so obsessed with sweet things!

Apples and bananas are fruits that I generally have at home. So when the craving struck, I was instantly chopping, mixing, frying, humming to myself…while the rain flooded my balcony and my mind with memories. I chose to make a choux batter as I love the way they turn out..puffed up, airy, crunchy little beignets. They tend to be lighter than a normal fritter. If it helps to make you feel a bit less guilty about eating this, you do give your arm a little workout when you whisk vigorously while blending the ingredients together.

I also made 4 eclairs out of the batter before mixing in the apples. They were puffing up in the oven while I was frying the beignets. I ate several before I was convinced to remove a few for photographs. It was comforting indeed watching the rain with a plate of these addictive little pastry puffs and thinking about flavour pairings for the eclairs. What did I tell you! I am so very…TOTALLY obsessed with desserts!

Apple and Cinnamon Beignets with Cinnamon Sugar and Butterscotch Sauce (adapted with variation from Taste.com)
Yields 18 small Beignets

1 granny smith or any tart-sweet apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
vegetable oil for frying

For the choux batter
60g butter, chopped
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup plain flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Butterscotch Sauce: Use this recipe.

Make the cinnamon sugar: Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Make choux pastry: Combine butter and 2/3 cup cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until butter has melted and mixture just starts to boil. Reduce heat to low. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture comes away from side of pan and forms a ball. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat in eggs until well combined and dough is glossy. Stir in apple and cinnamon.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop 1 level tablespoon mixture into pan. Repeat, making 6 fritters. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beignets to cinnamon sugar. Toss to coat. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining dough. Serve drizzled with butterscotch sauce and with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.