Curried canistel fritters

Just as Bill at Tinkering with Dinner did this week, I used my canistel in a pumpkin recipe—and with better results than my last canistel experiment. I adapted a Maddur Jaffrey recipe for Indian pumpkin fritters whose batter uses chickpea flour in lieu of egg for binding.

The fritters were sweet (in fact, the recipe easily could be converted into a dessert). But the onion and curry in the batter and abundance of spicy green chutney and yogurt that we served on the side secured the fritters’ position as a starter or side dish rather than a final course.

The simplicity of these crispy treats made them ideal for finishing off our canistel. But our apartment did smell like an Indian KFC for 24 hours, and we killed a fair share of paper napkins wiping curry-stained oil from our fingers.

If I were to make these again (and I just might), I would follow Bill’s advice and roast the fruit to cut the sweetness of the dish. I might also use purple onion and extra cilantro to gussy these homely (but tasty) girls up. 

Curried Canistel Fritters
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
7 ounces water
1 cup mashed canistel
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced (or  diced if you prefer)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions
Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan on medium heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, curry powder, salt, and baking soda. Pour water into the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Incorporate canistel, garlic, onion, and cilantro into the batter.

You’ll need to fry fritters in at least two batches. For each fritter, add about 2 tablespoons of the batter to the frying pan. Cook fritters for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove fritters from oil, and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 to 10 fritters

Tagged as: canistel, curry powder, fritter, Maddur Jaffrey, turmeric