One of the recipes in this month's Sri Lankan-themed Kitchen Trotter box was for Crispy Medu Vada-style Lentil Fritters. They are supposed to be deep fried but as I don't have a deep fat fryer any more (I have an Actifry which would have smashed them to bits !), I shallow fried them and reheated the leftovers in the oven. This meant that they came out a bit dry, but luckily there is an accompanying coconut "chutney" to add some moisture. Having looked up Medu Vada, I don't actually think they are anything like them, because they look more like dougnuts with a smooth batter. Nevertheless, these lentil fritters were nicely spiced and surprisingly simple to make. They were supposed to be a starter but I served them with rice as a main meal.
The recipe called for three products from the box, which could all be replaced by other things - Black Curry (a mild blend of cumin, coriander, rice, mustard, coconut, mace, black pepper, curry leaves, cinnamon, clove, cardamom - you could use mild curry powder if it's all you have), Rice Flour (normal flour or cornflour could be used) and curry leaves. I saw Madhur Jaffrey on Saturday Kitchen a few weeks ago saying that dried curry leaves were a waste of space because they don't taste of anything and I was inclined to agree with her, until I opened the tub of curry leaves in the kit and was hit with a fragrant blast of spicy zestiness.
Crispy Medu Vada-style Lentil Fritters
ingredients :
40 curry leaves
3tbsp black curry powder
10 tbsp rice flour
1 onion
250g lentils (blonde or green)
2tsp ginger (powder or fresh, grated)
1/2tsp chilli powder
a pinch of salt
oil for frying
for the chutney :
1 pot Greek yogurt
20g grated coconut
1tsp black curry powder
10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
the juice and zest of 1 lime
a pinch of salt
Put the lentils to cook in a pan of boiling water for 20-30 minutes until soft but still quite firm. Meanwhile, put all of the chutney ingredients in a bowl, stir to combine and chill in the fridge.
40 curry leaves
3tbsp black curry powder
10 tbsp rice flour
1 onion
250g lentils (blonde or green)
2tsp ginger (powder or fresh, grated)
1/2tsp chilli powder
a pinch of salt
oil for frying
for the chutney :
1 pot Greek yogurt
20g grated coconut
1tsp black curry powder
10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
the juice and zest of 1 lime
a pinch of salt
Put the lentils to cook in a pan of boiling water for 20-30 minutes until soft but still quite firm. Meanwhile, put all of the chutney ingredients in a bowl, stir to combine and chill in the fridge.
Put the onion, curry leaves, black curry powder, chilli powder, ginger and salt in a food processor.
Blitz until reduced to a pulp and stir to make sure it is all nicely combined.
Drain the cooked lentils, add to the food processor and blitz for 10 seconds. You still want some lumps in there. Stir through the flour to create a firm paste.
Use two tablespoons to create oval-shaped fritters.
This is actually much easier than it looks !
Fry gently for a few moments on both sides until they go golden brown and crispy on the outside.
Drain on kitchen paper.
Serve as an appetiser with the coconut chutney as a dip, or as a main meal with rice and a dollop of coconut chutney on the side.
These look interesting and not that hard to make. Will have to try them sometime
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of the coconut chutney, definitely will try making it. The lentil fritters are perfect for a meat-free day.
ReplyDeleteIt went well with the fritters but I wouldn't call it chutney - it reminded me of Rachel's Coconut Greek Yogurt straight out of the pot actually !
DeleteThe fritters look delicious - must try them. I have tried lots of your recipes. you should have a readers post where they can send you pics of their efforts making your recipes !!
ReplyDeleteThat's a fab idea - feel free to send any over that you have and I'll put them on my facebook page and add a link/photo to the blogpost :)
DeleteThese sound great. I would happily eat them as a main meal too!
ReplyDeleteThese look good, thanks for the recipe :)
ReplyDelete