Mung bean fritter, take two!
Fritter, up close and personal
It’s Sunday and I am ready to make Madhur Jaffrey’s fritter recipe!
Hello Fritter
Last week’s Sunday found me making a batch of mung bean fritters in the Korean method, which requires much fewer ingredients than Madhur Jaffrey’s moong dal ki pakori (that’s mung bean fritters to you).
Hello Asafoetida
Certainly the add-ins to the Korean fritter are varied, like scallions, mushrooms, kimchi, meat, etc., the seasoning for the batter involves just salt. Whereas for moong dal ki pakori you’ll need to make a list of things to pick up at the market.
For export only
Like asafoetida! The woman at the spice shop told the Boyfriend to store it in a separate container and not let mingle with other spices lest it overwhelm them with its pungent scent.
Spoon by spoon: Turmeric
The recipe says that the batter should float if you put it in water, but that didn’t happen for me.
Blended
But I didn’t let that stop me from proceeding on.
Golden
Though, I was a little hesitant about this recipe as it called for frying the fritters in two inches of hot oil, I used less and things turned out okay.
Eat more fritters
These fritters are Boyfriend approved.
Madhur Jaffrey’s mung bean fritter (moong dal ki pakori)
(adapted from CLIMBING THE MANGO TREE)
The ingredients
1 cup peeled mung beans, soaked overnight in 5 cups of water
a little water for grinder
1 pinch asafoetida
1 tsp salt
2 tbs cilantro, chopped
1-2 tbs fresh ginger, finely grated
1-2 tsp hot chile (cayenne, jalapeno, or birds-eye)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp turmeric
peanut oil for frying
The steps
1. Grind beans in the blender or food processor until they are broken down. Add salt, asafoetida, and a bit of water and grind for about five minutes.
2. Add the cilantro, ginger, chile, baking soda and turmeric and blend for another minute.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan, wok or Indian karhai on a medium low flame, about ten minutes or less.
4. Using two spoons, scoop up 3/4 teaspoon of batter in one and slide off the batter into the hot oil. Fry on one side for one minute and then turn over and fry for 7 minutes or until they are golden. This seemed to take a lot less than 7 minutes for me, but just keep an eye on them.
5. Drain them on paper towels and serve right away.
6. Madhur recommends a green chutney for a dipping sauce. I served mine with a yogurt dipping sauce:
Into a blender combine Greek yogurt, chopped scallions & cilantro, minced garlic, pinch of salt, and lemon juice and blend for a few minutes.
But you be the judge.
