Tandoori-Spiced Zucchini, Carrot, Mint & Ginger Fritters
Here's another little side-dish idea for you... so easy to make that it is almost embarrassing and so delicious to eat you are well advised to make plenty of them... your serving dish will be empty before you know it!
Can you believe that I got these 12 fritters from just 1 round zucchini, 1 carrot and 1 shallot? Well- you had better! So they are fantastically frugal as well as being so delicious! And I like that a lot!
Ok, obviously there were a couple more very simple ingredients involved- and yes, I do sincerely apologize for being silly enough to accidentally delete my ingredients photo- duh!! But I will share my little little recipe with you and walk you through it step by step- just like I always have and always will- and you will be just fine!
This is the point in my write-up where you are usually shown a picture of the ingredients- but today it will just be this list- sorry! For 12 fritters I needed 1 round zucchini (or 1 somewhat larger regular zucchini), 1 good-sized carrot, 1 shallot, about 2" of fresh ginger and a good handful of fresh mint. Apart from that, there were the 2 eggs and enough bread crumbs to bind the whole mixture together... and of course... tandoori spice!
I made a simple dipping sauce of yogurt, mint, lemon juice and a drop of sesame oil to go with them- but I am just going to go-ahead and presume you always have those basics at home... that's just the way I am!
More and more I find, that the simpler you keep recipes- the better they turn out! let the ingredients have their own voice, even when you are using aromatic spices... as with this dish! Such a wonderful, rich combination... but one where each of the individual flavors shines through!
You can't get much easier than the preparation for these lovely fritters... simply finely grate the zucchini, carrot and ginger and finely chop the shallot...
Pop them into a bowl, crack-in the 2 eggs, plenty of finely chopped mint, a heaped teaspoon of tandoori spice, a good pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.
Stir everything together until all of the ingredients are well integrated... pretty liquid-looking mixture, huh?
...which is why we add the bread crumbs! Add 1 cupful at first, stir it in and then add more, little by little, until you get a thicker and firmer consistency.
Once it looks like this- about the consistency of a smooth mashed potato, let it sit for 5-10 minutes for the bread crumbs to soak up the juices from the grated zucchini and carrot... and then get your frying pan hot and ready to rumble... or sizzle!
I fried mine in clarified butter, or ghee, as one would in India... although there is nothing traditionally Indian about this dish- but it gives a great flavor and is easy to work with. Don't add too much butter and don't have your heat set too high- let them gently become firm and begin to turn golden around the edges before flipping them over.
After 3-4 minutes of gentle heat from each side... they will look like this... and smell terrific!
Serve them up with a simple dipping sauce of plain yogurt, with a drop of sesame oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, some finely chopped mint and simply salt and pepper... that's all they need to really bring them to life!
There! I told you they were easy to make! And although they are of course flavored with tandoori spice, they are so lovely and mild that they would be an excellent side to any meal.
And in the unlikely event of you having and left-overs... these will taste excellent cold as well! perfect with a salad for lunch the day after! Good, common-sense, sensible and delicious eating!
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