These fritters are made with cauliflower, besan(chick pea flour), cumin(geera), turmeric, garlic and fresh cilantro.
A few weeks ago, while at work, I had a desire. A desire for a fritter. In my mind I envisioned how it would taste and had a few requirements:
-Must contain crunchy cauliflower and punctuated with bits of roasted geera and cilantro.
-Also wanted to incorporate turmeric for color, taste and health benefits.
-No white flour/Gluten free – since I steer clear of flour during the week(or try), plus I needed to use the besan flour that my neighbors bought for me a while back.
-No eggs for the vegans that happen to stop by my blog.
-Not deep, deep fried. Just slightly deep (if there is such a term).
-And because I have been looking at one too many episodes of Chopped, it had to be accompanied by a chutney of sorts—but a “healthy” chutney with not a lot of oil or calories.
After dinner that monumental night, everyone dispersed and I lingered in the kitchen. I worked methodically chopping and adjusting the flavors to my palette. It was all about me and my gastronomic needs.
Every couple of minutes I would call out to my hubbie (who was probably watching sports on TV) to jot down an ingredient or two for me. Well ladies and gentlemen….after reviewing his notes I realized I wasted my time. Eleven cups of cauliflower along with other illegible monstrosities? What in tarnation? Sometimes I think this sort of behavior is a male tactic to discourage the wife (INsignificant other) from asking for help. I am discouraged alright. [“smh” and smiling] Long story short, these cauliflower fritters were magnificient. But you don’t have to believe me. Try this recipe for yourself and let me know.
They are great as a snack or an interesting (and delicious) appetizer to serve when entertaining. I took the remainders the next day for lunch and finished them all off by 8:35am..I arrived at work around 8:30..
Cauliflower fritters can most definitely be eaten alone, but I made a delicious raw mango chutney to accompany it. (Recipe coming soon).
Ria’s Cauliflower Fritter
Serves 4-6
1 cup fine chick pea flour (besan)
½ head cauliflower, rinsed and finely chopped (about 2 cups)
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon toasted whole cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, grated
Hot pepper or pimento, to taste, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
About ¾ cup water
Oil for frying
Directions:
Toast cumin, wash and chop cauliflower, chop hot pepper or pimento pepper, onion, mince or finely chop cilantro and grate garlic.
To toast cumin: Heat a small frying pan, add cumin. Shake pan constantly until cumin darkens and becomes aromatic, about 1 minute. Remove immediately from pan and place on a paper towel to cool. To bring out more flavor, slightly crush in a mortar or pestle or place in a plastic bag and slightly crush with a rolling pin(optional).
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cauliflower, cilantro, cumin, turmeric, onion, garlic, hot pepper or pimento if using, and salt. (I used a fresh pimento, it added great flavor without the heat.)
Add water gradually to make a batter thicker than pancake batter.
Add more chick pea flour if you want a greater ratio of flour to cauliflower.
[If fritter breaks up in the frying pan, it means that you need to add more flour–increase gradually 1 tablespoon of flour at a time.]
In both cases, adjust salt to taste.
Heat 1 inch oil in a pan over medium heat.
Using a ¼ cup measuring spoon, drop batter into pan, four at a time, and flatten with a spatula to about ½ inch thickness.
Cook until brown, turn over and cook the other side until brown also.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
Remove to paper towel lined plate.
Serve by itself or enjoy with chutney or hot sauce.
Thanks for stopping by! Btw, Can you identify the flowers in the second and sixth pictures? I took these pics last weekend in my backyard…and I look forward to sharing more with you as the flowers bloom!
With love,
Ria
These are known as Pakora in Indian cooking and can be made with eggplant, potatoe or even broccoli with a little green peas addded for colour if required. The veggies are normally left quite large, as inthe case of cauliflower, left in florets. Also served with a nice chutney – tamarind, mango or a kuchela!! Yummy. I make them all the time. When I am in a rush I use the ready-made pholourie mix – which turns out so good – but has a more floury texture so I add more split peas powder to the batter and it gets nice and crunchy!!! Way to Go girl!