Chickpea flour fritters are a vegan, yet high protein recipe that is great as a snack or even a main course. Great for having friends over, and takes minutes to make.
I come from a region where beans and chickpeas are in dozens of recipes, from salads to dips to other main course dishes. However, prior to trying this recipe, I had never used chickpea flour before.
My first experience with chickpea flour fritters started when I lived in Malaysia. At one point I had a Pakistani flatmate and one day she asked me a puzzling question, “Where can I buy gram flour?” I looked at her uncomprehendingly, “What kind of flour?” I stammered. “Gram flour!” She replied, looking at me incredulously as though I were an alien from outer space. It took some Googling and research for me to understand what she wanted was chickpea flour. I had never used that ingredient in my life. Anyway, sometime later she found a store that sold chickpea flour and made these amazing fritters. This recipe is inspired by those fritters my former flatmate once made.
Now, this recipe is perfectly vegan, so if you don’t eat meat, this is for you. It’s also very satisfying, high protein and is perfect for a snack or even a main course. You can also modify it according to your taste. In my recipe, I added canned sweet corn, grated carrots, grated zucchini, and spring onions. However, you can add any vegetables you have on hand. You can also modify the spices according to taste. I find that these fritters go great with a sweet-sour chilli sauce; you can use Thai sweet chilli sauce or something equivalent. I find that great recipes are the ones you can customize according to your mood and whatever ingredients you have available. The two ingredients you definitely can’t do without are chickpea flour and water. That’s about it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpea or gram or chana flour
- 1 cup hot water (add water until you have a thick waffle-batter consistency)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon curry powder or any spice mix you like
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered black pepper
- 1/2 cup of drained canned sweet corn
- 1/2 cup grated carrots or zucchini
- 2 thin spring onions, chopped into small pieces.
- 1/2 cup canola oil for frying
Method
- Boil the water in a kettle
- Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly
- Pour water slowly while mixing continuously until it reaches the consistency of a thick waffle batter.
- Fold the chopped and grated vegetables
- Let sit for a few minutes while you heat the oil in a frying pan
- With a tablespoon scoop out some of the batter and drop it into the hot oil, repeat until you’ve filled the whole frying pan.
- Turn gently with a spatula to brown it on all sides. Once golden brown remove from hot oil and place on a paper towel on a plate. Serve while still hot with some dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Have you ever used chickpea flour before? Do you have any interesting recipe ideas or suggestions? Would love to hear about it!
If you liked this recipe and want another vegetarian/meat-free recipe, check out my Meat-Free Eggplant Pasta recipe.
© 2019, L.E.. All rights reserved.