Chickpea Fritters

This blog started as a series of posts on my Instagram story. I had forgotten about those recipes ! A lot of them are already posted here in more detail, but I was reminded of a lovely and simple classic recently. All it takes is some basic veg and a can of chickpeas and you’re good to go…

There is not even much of a story to go along with this recipe, so I will happily jump right into the how-to. You can choose what vegetables to add in or out, but I used courgette, carrot, green chili, fresh ginger and garlic. All of the vegetables need to be chopped quite finely, so a food processor would absolutely come in handy. You could also use a grater or a mandoline cutter to get them nice and chopped up. Once all of your vegetables are cut, place them into a mixing bowl. Use what you have – carrot, courgette and ginger are suggestions. Add potato, or broccoli, red pepper or chopped onion – whatever else you may have on hand at the moment. You may surprise yourself !

As you’ll remember, I love spice. Cumin seeds, coriander, black pepper, salt, cardamoms, and cinnamon all taste so much better as fresh spices ground with a mortar pestle, but if you’ve got pre-ground spices they will work just fine. This spice mix could be changed to incorporate garam masala, or curry powder. It is incredibly versatile, and sure to taste good however you decide to spice it. If you have kids who don’t like spice, the green chili can be taken out entirely and these can be modified to fit their palate.

This recipe is happily vegan, as the chickpeas act as a binder in the way that an egg might in a similar vegetable fritter recipe. They need to be put into a food processor and processed until just before they form a paste. Add them to the veggie bowl with the spices, and finally toss in a bit of flour and breadcrumbs. Give the whole things a nice mix, until everything is well incorporated, and then you can begin to form your fritters.

There isn’t really a secret to forming patties. I scooped a healthy amount from the bowl and placed it directly in the pan, pressing on the top as I did so until it was squashed down into a patty shape. Your pan needs be heated already with a neutral oil heating in it – medium high heat will be enough. You need to have enough oil to shallow fry the patties – a delicate balance of not too much, not too little.

Once they have cooked to golden brown on one side, flip them and do the same on the other side. I reckon they will take about 3-5 minutes on each side. Then, remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate and serve. DONE! Easy! This is an amazing lunch for a hungry day when you can’t be bothered to lift a finger.

My first round came out a bit crispy but delicious. A Sriracha mayo or yogurt chutney would pair so well with these, or a vegan raita, just plain ketchup… whatever makes you happy!