The Gujarati eggplant fritters | Ringrah na bhajia is home to vibrant vegetarian dishes made according to ancient recipes. Chickpeas and pulses are grown and used fresh, and ground into flour that makes noodles, breads, and batters. Make lots of these smoky fritters because everyone will keep coming back for more.
Serves 6–8
Ingredients:
3 medium eggplant
1 cup (300g) cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (you can use canned chickpeas)
2 tablespoons rice flour
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
4 scallions (green onions), finely chopped
2 hot fresh green chiles, seeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne
handful of fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
vegetable oil for frying
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spiced yogurt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup (8oz) Greek-style yogurt
1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne
20 fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped juice of 1⁄2 lemon
Method:
1. Preheat the broiler. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet under the broiler and char all over until the skin is blistered and the eggplant are soft inside, turning with tongs as necessary. Remove from the broiler and leave to cool. Once the eggplant are cool, peel off the skin and discard. Coarsely chop the flesh and set aside.
2. To make the spiced yogurt, roast the ground coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Leave to cool, then stir into the yogurt with the cayenne. Season with salt and black pepper. Mix the cilantro with the lemon juice, add to the yogurt mixture, and stir through.
3. Put the drained chickpeas in a large bowl. Roughly mash with the two flours and baking powder. Add the chopped eggplant, scallions, chiles, and garlic, and stir, then add the cinnamon, cayenne, chopped cilantro. Season with salt and black pepper. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Using a metal spoon, combine the ingredients into a batter.
4. To cook the fritters, heat a large heavy pan over a medium-high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. Fry a little piece of the mixture, and taste to check the seasoning. If necessary, adjust the seasoning to suit your taste.
5. Cooking in batches so that you don’t crowd the pan and allow the temperature of the oil to drop, carefully spoon tablespoons of batter into the pan. Shallow-fry for 2–3 minutes, turning once during the cooking time, until the fritters are golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels, and serve hot with the spiced yogurt.
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| Gujarati eggplant fritters | Ringrah na bhajia |
