Indian Yam Fritters Classic Crunch Patties Recipes

INDIAN YAM FRITTERS / CLASSIC CRUNCH PATTIES

Steps:

• Wash and peel the yams. Boil until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Drain the yams thoroughly and puree in the food processor with the flour. A thick and sticky mixture should result.
• Add the seasonings and pulse again.
• Form little discs with your hands (I hope you washed them) about the size of half-dollars. (50p coins to those across the pond.).
• Shallow pan fry in olive oil, blot on paper towels.
• Serve with tamarind date sauce or a good chutney (many fine chutney recipes on the zaar!).

YUMMY INDIAN CRUNCH PATTIES / LENTIL & CHICKPEA MASALA VEDAI

Steps:

• Clean the chickpeas and lentils in cold water, and soak them in a sufficient water level for at least 1 hour. (IMPORTANT- I know you were thinking about pre-boiling or just using canned to be lazy. But I did the same thing and had to toss it the first time; there has to be coarseness to this batter or it won't work. It'll be like frying funnel cake batter, too creamy and nothing to chew on.).
• Drain well and blend in a food processor.
• The mixture should have a thick and pasty consistency-- but if it can't blend, just add a few drops of water but not too much.
• Pour the lentil/chickpea puree into another mixing bowl, and add the other ingredients, blending well.
• Form the mixture into balls (about ping pong ball sized) with your hands (I hope you washed them) and flatten.
• Let the balls set for a few minutes.
• Fry the balls in the olive oil, then blot on paper towels.
• Serve with a nice chutney, tamarind date sauce, a nice yogurt sauce, or double/triple the recipe to have enough for all 3!

INDIAN-STYLE SPLIT PEA FRITTERS

Steps:

• For at least 3 hours, soak the split peas in water to cover. Drain but leave them wet. Place oil, to a depth of at least 3 inches, in a wok or large, deep saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high. Let it heat while you prepare fritters; it should reach a temperature of 365 to 375 degrees.
• Place the drained peas in the container of a food processor with chili, ginger, garlic, onion, cilantro, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, salt and pepper. Process until mixture is a coarse purée - not perfectly smooth, but with no whole peas remaining. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if necessary to help the machine with its work. The mixture should be fairly loose; add a little water if it is quite thick, or a tablespoon or two of flour if it is soupy. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Drop the mixture by the heaping tablespoon into the oil; do not crowd. Cook until lightly browned and crisp, turning if necessary; total cooking time will be about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot or at room temperature, with lime wedges.

YUCCA BLACK BEAN FRITTERS / CRUNCH PATTIES

Steps:

• Peel and wash the yucca. Cut into pieces.
• Boil in salted water for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. (shorter time if you use a pressure cooker; which is just a dream in my current ghetto kitchen that has no $%*#@ space.).
• Plop the tender yucca pieces into the food processor. Add the flour as well. Rinse and drain the black beans and put them in too.
• Continuously pulse until the ingredients have pureed together-- but not entirely pureed, about halfway. There needs to be some whole beans and yucca chunks in there or else there's nothing to chew on.
• Add the spices, and butter or oil and pulse again until melded.
• If your food processor is a pain in the @$$ like mine, chances are some large yucca chunks and whole black beans are in there too. This is fine, I actually found this really added to the texture and flavor.
• With your hands, form patties about the size of yo-yos. There should be about 15-20 of them.
• Let the patties sit for a while (about 10 minutes. In my case, I had to run to class so I put them in a container in the fridge for 2 hours and fried them up when I returned.).
• Pour canola oil in a frying pan and make sure the oil doesn't get too hot.
• Fry the patties in the oil, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
• Blot on paper towels and serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole or your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy.