Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Yoghurt : IHCC

"Shalom Yotam Ottolenghi", our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are welcoming Yotam Ottolenghi as our new featured chef for the next six months. I have never tried any of his recipes before this, but have definitely read all about his fabulous books, Plenty, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi : The Cookbook, which I have been eyeing for quite some time. 




So for this week, at IHCC, to welcome Yotam Ottolenghi as our featured chef, I have chosen to make Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Yoghurt. A super easy fritters to put together and it is so delicious.


The fritters may not look very pretty, but these are so tasty and fragrant. And these fritters are not the crispy kind of fritters, they have a slight crisp when eaten hot, and once they are cool, the texture is actually quite soft, almost like eating a thick pancake, but so much tastier.


The cauliflower florets are first cooked in boiling water for about 10 to 15 minutes until tender, drained and kept aside. The batter is mixed by using all-purpose flour, eggs, chopped shallots, chopped corianders, mashed garlic, cumin powder, ground cinnamon, ground turmeric and season with salt and black pepper. Then the warm drained cauliflower florets are added into the batter and broken up with a spoon as these are mixed together. But I have left most of the cauliflower rather chunky, as I prefer them chunky. The fritters, a scoop of about 3 tablespoons,  are then fried in some oil on both sides until brown and cooked, about 2-3 minutes each side, drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil. The recipes uses 2 cups of oil for deep-frying, but I use much less than that! Just pour some oil into the frying pan, there's no need to cover the fritters completely. When  one side is brown and cooked, turn over and fry the other side until done. 


Even my daughter who is not really a fan of cauliflowers, enjoyed these fritters a lot and almost all of these are finished up by both my kids! They really love it, especially when dipped into the Lime Yoghurt.

The Lime Yoghurt uses Greek Yoghurt, and it is not easy to get Greek Yoghurt over here, so I have made my own by draining my own Homemade Yoghurt. The Cauliflower Fritters uses flat-leaf parsley, but I have replaced with fresh coriander since I have a bundle in my fridge. The Greek Yoghurt is mixed with chopped coriander, lime zest and juice, a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 


Spoon a dollop of Lime Yoghurt over the fritter or just simply dip the fritter into the Lime Yoghurt, either way, these are yummy! More fresh corianders for me, I love eating fresh corianders,!


Delicious, and this is the first dish that I've tried from Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe, looking forward to more!



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To view more of Yotam Ottolenghi's delicious recipes, please stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), and if you are interested to cook with us, please find out more details from IHCC.

Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Yoghurt
Serves 4
1 small cauliflower
120gm (1 cup) plain flour
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus a few extra leaves to garnish
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 free-range eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
500ml sunflower oil for frying.

Lime Yoghurt :
300gm Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
grated zest of one lime
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions :
  1. For the Lime Yoghurt : Put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Taste, looking for a vibrant, tart, citrusy flavour - and adjust the seasoning. Chill or leave out for up to one hour.
  2. To prepare the cauliflower, trim off any leaves and use a small knife to divide the cauliflower into little florets. Add to a large pan of salted boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft. Drain into a colander.
  3. While the cauliflower is cooking, put the flour, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together well to make a batter. When the mixture is smooth, add the warm cauliflower. Mix to break down the cauliflower into the batter.
  4. Pour the sunflower oil into a wide pan to a depth of 1.5cm and heat up. When it is very hot, spoon in generous portions of the cauliflower mixture, 3 tablespoons per fritter. Fry in small batches, controlling the oil temperature so that the fritters cook but don't burn. They should take 3-4 minutes on each side.
  5. Remove from the pan and drain well on kitchen paper.
  6. Serve with sauce on the side.


25 comments:

  1. Hi Joyce, that looks good, I believe I do have all the ingredients at home but unfortunately I am not home now to do this!

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  2. What fantastic looking fritters!

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  3. Your fritters with that yoghurt looks amazing! I need to invest in one of those air fryers because I don't normally deep fry at home.... the air fryer will allow me to make this and other yummy fried food.

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  4. Great first post for our journey with Ottolenghi, Joyce. I love the sound of these fritters, and I actually bookmarked them on the weekend to make them for a forthcoming challenge. Now I really can't wait to try them.

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  5. yes yes yes...!!! by the look of it, i really like to try one of these fritters with the homemade yoghurt!!! so tempting... however, seems like my big boy n the lil gals aint vege people..:(

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  6. Joyce, this is why I like about food blogging, which I get to learn new dishes every now & then! 1st time of seeing cauliflower fritters. Fritters seem to be a very popular food to prepare for schooling kids & I did a few other versions before yet, this cauliflower fritters sounds so interesting!

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  7. Me too, Joyce, I love food blogging as I can get "surprises" everyday looking at different, delicious post from everyone! Fritters are everyone favourite and it taste awesome with good dip too. The yogurt dip seems to be very appetizing to me of the lime juice added.

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  8. Joyce, this cauliflower fritter sound special to me!!!! I like the lime yogurt dip too.

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  9. I think I've eaten this before.... very delicious indeed!!

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  10. Looks so crispy and inviting .....
    Perfect evening snacks, will try it :)
    ShrutiRasoi

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  11. Joyce, I do love fritters! This one is absolutely yum with all the aromatic spices. Must try, must try!

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  12. Joyce , those fritters look good ! Lovely brown color and full of wonderful flavor !

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  13. Eileen, Hundred Eighty DegreesTuesday, April 02, 2013

    Wow, your children are so fortunate to try all the new dishes. I've not cooked any decent meal for the past months. Yours look tempting: )

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  14. the lime yogurt sounds good, the fritters look good, so is the chef up there!

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  15. I'm crazy about any kind of vegetable fritter like this. Love the lime yogurt dipping sauce to go with it. Sure is a great way to welcome in Ottolenghi :)

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  16. I've never made a fritter with cauliflower but I'm loving it! They look delicious.

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  17. Lime yogurt sounds perfect with this cauliflower fritters...something that I should try...and soon.
    Enjoy your week Joyce :)

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  18. i am going to have to try this. its the perfect idea for snack or mini meal for the kids. look utterly divine

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  19. When I was browsing thru blog reader , I thought you've invited a handsome chef in your kitchen ! hahahahaha This recipe sounds & looks super delicious! Perfect cauliflower recipe as I'm always at lost when it comes to cauliflower or even broccoli! LOL

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  20. Joyce, thanks for joining in the Food on Friday fun. Cheers

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  21. These look scrumptious. I've got a sticky on the page already. Yum!

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  22. Everything about these fritters sounds delicious. Cauliflower, cumin, lime yogurt. Great dish for a welcome post, Joyce. Thanks for linking up too!

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  23. Just delicious! Your recipe is awesome and thank you so much for sharing it at the table with Full Plate Thursday.
    Hope to see you again soon!
    Miz Helen

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  24. Oh man! I know I would just love these fritters! That lime yogurt dipping sauce looks like the perfect foil to the crispness too! Yummah! You picked a winner this week!

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  25. I like all those ingredients...and the crunchiness of the fritter is calling to me. Mmmmmm....

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