Crispy Cauliflower Fritters

When you think about fritters, you get the picture of something fried and crispy. Yes, you got it right. This is practically the first dish I learned to make when I was a kid, well mum actually let me mix the batter. So, ever since I have been tried different combinations and trying to make the perfect crispy fritters. These cauliflower fritters are part of Mangalorean cuisine.

Gram flour is the main ingredient of Indian fritter batter, where as elsewhere plain flour is used. Over the years I have used various combination of rice flour, corn flour

and semolina being added to the gram flour. Some just add baking soda to the gram flour batter to make them crispy, the fritters look great but the only drawback is they absorb too much oil. Hence, avoid using it and stick to using corn flour or rice flour or just rice flour in addition to the chickpea flour.

These fritters are served as appetisers/ starters/ evening snack/ along with South Indian meals. I usually make them with rice and dal or sometimes just as an evening snack with tea. You can use the same batter to make fritters of other vegetables like sliced potatoes, green peppers, onion rings, etc. All of them taste equally good.

Serves

US|Metric

ingredients

Cauliflower: 1
Gram flour/ Chickpea flour: ⅔ cup
Rice flour: 2 tbsp
Corn flour: 1 tbsp
Salt: ½ tsp
Chilli powder: ½ tsp
Oil: for deep frying
Water: to make the batter (½ cup)

Crispy Cauliflower Fritters

Gram flour is the main ingredient of Indian fritter batter, where as elsewhere plain flour is used. Over the years I have used various combination of rice flour, corn flour

Step 1:

In a deep-frying pan, heat oil for deep frying the fritters.

Step 2:Batter

1. Prepare the batter adding all the dry ingredients – gram flour, rice flour, corn flour, chilli powder, hing and salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Make the batter adding water little at a time. The batter should be a bit thinner than pancake batter (if the batter is too thick, add more water and mix using the whisk so that there are no lumps. If the batter is thin, don’t worry, add more gram flour to adjust the consistency). Keep it aside until the oil heats up. Heat the oil on a medium flame until you can see it smoking. This will take about 7-8 minutes depending on the size of your frying pan.

3. In the mean time cut the cauliflower into small florets and wash them thoroughly. To test the temperature is right to fry, add a drop of the batter into the oil. The batter rises to the top instantly. Then the oil is ready to deep fry. (Make sure the flame is not too high or else the fritters will brown and be undercooked on the inside. If the oil is not hot enough, the fritters will be soggy. They have to be cooked on medium flame until they are crisp and golden brown). Drop the florets one by one, cook few pieces at a time. Do not over crowd the pan as it will cool the oil and the fritters will be soggy.

Step 3: Deep frying

1. Dip the florets in the batter and drop them slowly in the hot oil and deep fry them until they nice and crispy. Flip them once so that they cook evenly on both sides. Once cooked transfer them on a plate lined with kitchen tissue. Tissues help in absorbing the excess oil.

Serve the crispy cauliflower fritters when hot. I love them with steaming cup of masala chai tea. Please do try this recipe and enjoy them as I do. Do comment and share your pictures of the fritters.

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