Curried Beet and Sweet Potato Fritters

These curried beet and potato fritters are more like latkes or pakoras than the more doughnut like apple fritter, but delicious nonetheless. The use of besan (chickpea) flour means these are also gluten and egg free treats.

What are fritters?

A fritter is a type of fried dough to which chopped meat, vegetables or fruits have been added. The dough can be puffy and doughnut like, or they can be more like a patty. Our beet and sweet potato fritters are similar to pakoras and other fried street foods. Where I live in Maryland the fritter is puffy and the most popular varieties are sweet apple fritters and savory oyster fritters. People have been known to line up for either one.

Using chickpea flour as an egg replacement

In the US, besan or chickpea flour isn’t used much in everyday cooking although it’s popular among people who don’t eat eggs because it works really well as a binder and a batter. It’s also a popular gluten free flour.

Chickpea flour is more widely used in Mediterranean and Asian cuisine. The versatility of chickpea flour is valued among vegans since it’s a great protein source. You’ll find it sold as chickpea flour, besan flour and gram flour. You should be able to find it in any well stocked grocery store (especially if there’s a gluten free section) or you can try an Indian grocery.

When you use besan flour as an egg replacement the typical ratio is 1/4 cup besan (chickpea) flour to 1/4 cup water to replace one egg. However, since sweet potatoes and beets are very wet, I reduced the amount of water to just enough to hold the mix together. For this batch it was a quarter cup, but use your best judgement. It’s easy enough to add the water a tablespoon or so at a time to get the best mix.

Four cups of grated beets and sweet potatoes made 8 fritters measured out with a generous quarter cup measure. I used a small peeled sweet potato and three smallish beets that had already been roasted and peeled and grated them on a standard box grater.

Use your favorite curry in the amount you like best. I used a tablespoon of a mild curry powder and could have added more.

Beet and sweet potato fritters are best eaten while still hot although they can be re-crisped in the oven. We served them with a creamy horseradish sauce that has been our favorite condiment recently.

Curried Beet and Sweet Potato Fritters

Eat 'em while they're hot for best quality. Re-heat any leftovers in the oven.

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Course: Appetizer, lunch, Snack

Servings: 4 servings

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled and shredded sweet potato (about 5 - 6 inches long)
• 2 cups roasted, peeled and shredded beets (2 or 3 medium beets)
• 1 tablespoon curry powder or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 cup besan (chickpea) flour *omit for "conventional" fritters*
• up to 1/2 cup water use the minimum to hold everything together *omit for "conventional" fritters*
• {Substitute 2 eggs and 1/2 cup flour for "conventional" fritters}
• Oil for frying

Instructions

• Mix the shredded beets, sweet potatoes, curry powder, salt and besan flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add just enough water to hold it all together.
• Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet and heat it over medium high heat until the oil is hot.
• Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop up the batter and add to the skillet. Flatten the fritters slightly.
• Cook 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side, adjusting the heat as necessary.
• Repeat with the next batch, add more oil if needed.

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