Crispy Vegetable Fritters with Raita
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Fritters
- 1 cup sweet yellow corn
- 1 cup riced cauliflower
- 1/4 cup fine diced red onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup diced peppers (red, yellow, green)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons fried Spiceology brown mustard seeds (see instructions)
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup canola oil for cooking
Raita
- 3 teaspoons ground cumin (see note)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 teaspoons black or brown mustard seed
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 green onions, ends trimmed and minced, plus more for garnish
- 1/3 bunch cilantro, stems and all, minced, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- First, prep the spices. Heat olive oil in a skillet, then add mustard seeds and cook just until the first few pop, 1 – 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and set pan aside to cool. When cool, strain mustard seeds from the oil. Reserve 2 teaspoons of seeds for the fritters and the rest and the oil for drizzling over raita just before serving.
- In a medium bowl, stir to combine yogurt, lemon juice, 1 tbs olive oil, green onions and cilantro, 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and fried mustard seeds, and sea salt. Cover and set in fridge while you make the fritters.
- In a large bowl of a food processor, add the flour, brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, cayenne, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of the corn. Pulse until blended together, then transfer mixture to a mixing bowl.
- Stir in remaining corn, peppers, cauliflower, onion, parsley, mustard seeds and milk, mixing until a batter forms. It should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Adjust by adding more milk or flour if consistency is to thick or thin.
- Add oil to a large skillet saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. You only need enough oil to coat the pan. This is a shallow fry, not a deep fry. To test your oil, sprinkle a few drops of water in the pan. If they sizzle, your pan is ready. You can also test the oil with a wooden spoon. The oil will start bubbling around the spoon.
- When the oil is hot add a little less than 1/4 cup of batter to the skillet and then quickly smooth the batter out to a circle. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, flip and cook another 2 minutes or until brown and crispy all over. The veggie fritters are ready to flip when they are golden brown. Remove and repeat with the remaining batter until all the batter has been used. Keep the fritters warm.
- Just before serving, spoon raita into a serving bowl and swirl with a spoon. Drizzle with reserved mustard oil, and sprinkle with chili powder and reserved green onion and cilantro. Serve fritters with a big dollop of raita and a few cherry tomatoes.
- Note: Try using whole cumin seeds and toast and grind your own… Set a small skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seed and, shaking the pan a bit, cook just until seeds are fragrant, 1 – 2 minutes. Stay
with it, they will burn quickly. - Grind toasted seeds with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Give it a try.
