Spiced Cauliflower Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized cauliflower
• 200 ml vegetable oil
• 1 cup gram flour (plain flour works too)
• a couple pinches of salt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
• soda water, as required

Method

Separate the cauliflower into bite-sized florets, wash them and leave to drain.

Pour about 200 ml of vegetable oil into a wok and heat it on a medium heat.

Meanwhile put a cup of flour into a bowl – gram (chickpea) flour is best but plain flour works fine too.

Add a couple of pinches of salt and all the spices together.

Add the soda water, bit by bit, and stir it in until you have a thick batter.

Dust the cauliflower in some flour – this will help the batter stick – then put it in the bowl of batter and mix it up so the cauliflower is lightly coated in batter. I don’t like too much batter on things, but it’s up to you.

Turn the wok up to a high heat and, when the oil is hot, put in half the florets and fry until golden and crisp. I like to cook them a bit longer then so they get some brown bits on them and you can smell the cauliflower cooking. Drain off the oil.

Either serve immediately or keep the fritters in a warm oven while you cook the second batch. You can add them back into the wok for a quick re-fry with the second batch when they are nearly done, to make sure they are all hot and crispy.

Serve with mango chutney and raita.