 Carrot andchickpea fritters | |
| Main ingredients | Batter ordough |
|---|---|
| Ingredients generally used | Small pieces of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients |
Afritter is a portion ofmeat,seafood,fruit,vegetables, or other ingredients which have beenbattered orbreaded, or just a portion ofdough without further ingredients, that isdeep-fried.[1][2][3][4] Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory varieties.[4]
The 1854 edition ofAn American Dictionary of the English Language byNoah Webster defines fritter as atransitive verb meaning "to cut meat into small pieces to be fried".[5] Another definition from 1861 is given as "a pancake cont. chopped fruit, poultry, fish; also a small piece of meat fried".[6]
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West African countries have many variations similar to fritters. The most common process includes the blending of peeledblack-eyed peas with peppers and spices to leave a thick texture. A Yoruba version,akara, is a popular street snack and side dish in Nigerian culture. Another popular fritter made by Nigerians is 'puff-puff', typically made by deep-frying a dough containing flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, eggs and water.
Falafel, ortaʿmiya (Arabic:طعمية,romanized: ṭaʿmiyya) is an example of a fritter widely eaten inEgypt as well as other countries inNorth Africa. In Egypt, it is made from crushedfava beans which are mixed with various herbs and spices and then deep-fried.[7]
Pumpkin fritters (commonly known aspampoenkoekies), usually served withcinnamon sugar and served at any time of day, are popular inSouth Africa. Variations often includebanana instead of pumpkin.[8][9]
Fritters are commonly referred to asbhajia orviazi karai, and are a popular street snack inKenya.
Fritters are common roadside snacks all overSouth Asia and are commonly referred to aspakora(pakoda) orbhaji(bhajia) in local parlance. Theonion bhaji is especially well-known.
In India and Pakistan, apakora is a fritter of assorted vegetables and spices.
In theSouth Indian state ofKerala,banana fritters are popular.
Piyaji is aBengali dish of fritters with onions.
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InBrunei, fritters are known ascucur and they are eaten as snacks.Cucur is also part of local street food and usually sold in street market-style food booth (locally known asgerai). They are usually made with fillings which are commonly made withbanana,shrimp,yam,sweet potatoes and vegetables (usually slicedcabbages orcarrots). Some local fruits, when they are in season, are also made intocucur, most commonlydurian,breadfruit (sukun),tibadak (Artocarpus integer) andtarap (Artocarpus odoratissimus).
InIndonesia, fritters come under the category ofgorengan (Indonesian:fritters, fromgoreng "to fry"), and many varieties are sold on travelling carts or by street vendors throughout Indonesia.[10] Various kinds of ingredients are battered and deep-fried, such asbananas (pisang goreng),tempemendoan,tahu goreng (friedtofu),oncom,sweet potato,cassava chunk, cassavatapai,cireng (tapioca fritters),bakwan (flour with chopped vegetables), Tahu isi (filledtofu), andbreadfruit.[11] These are often eaten accompanied by freshbird's eye chili. The variety known asbakwan commonly contains flour with chopped vegetables such as carrot and cabbage, whereas the fried patties calledperkedel typically consist of mashed potatoes or ground corn (perkedel jagung orbakwan jagung).
InMalaysia, it is common for a type of fritter called "cucur"[12] (such asyam, sweet potato and banana[13]) to be fried by the roadside[13] in a largewok and sold assnacks.
InBurmese cuisine, fritters are calleda-kyaw (Burmese:အကြော်), while assorted fritters are calleda-kyaw-sone (Burmese:အကြော်စုံ). The most populara-kyaw is the gourd fritter (ဘူးသီးကြော်). Diced onions,chickpea, potatoes, a variety of leafy vegetables, brown bean paste,Burmese tofu,chayote, banana and crackling are other popular fritter ingredients. Black beans are made into a paste with curry leaves to makebayagyaw[14]—small fritters similar tofalafel. Unlike pisang goreng, Burmesebanana fritters are made only with overripe bananas with no sugar or honey added.
The savory fritters are eaten mainly at breakfast or as a snack at tea.Gourd,chickpea andonion fritters are cut into small parts and eaten withMohinga, Myanmar's national dish. These fritters are also eaten withKao hnyin baung rice and with Burmese green sauce—calledchin-saw-kar ora-chin-yay. Depending on the fritterhawker, the sauce is made from chili sauce diluted with vinegar, water,cilantro, finely diced tomatoes, garlic and onions.
In thePhilippines, egg fritters are calledtokneneng (duck) orkwek-kwek (quail), and squid fritters are calledkalamares. These, along with shrimp fritters calledokoy, andbanana fritters calledmaruya are also sold in travelling carts or street side vendors.
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Throughout China, fritters are sold at roadsides. They may contain pork, but are commonly vegetarian.
InJapanese cuisine,takoyaki is a type of ball-shaped fritter made with a wheat batter, minced octopus, ginger and tempura scraps.[15]Tempura is vegetable or seafood dipped and fried in a light crispy batter and served as a common accompaniment to meals.
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InKorean cuisine, deep-fried foods are known astwigim (튀김).Twigim is oftenbattered andbreaded, but there are varieties without breading, as well as varieties without breading and batter. Populartwigim dishes includedak-twigim (fried chicken),gim-mari-twigim (fried seaweed roll),goguma-twigim (fried sweet potato),gul-twigim (fried oyster),ojingeo-twigim (fried squid), andsaeu-twigim (fried shrimp).
Traditional vegetarian deep-fried foods associated withKorean temple cuisine includetwigak andbugak.[16]Twigak are made from vegetables such asdasima (kelp) andbamboo shoot, without breading or batter.Bugak are made from vegetables such asdasima,perilla leaves, andchili peppers, which are coated withglutinous ricepaste and dried thoroughly.
TheIranian variety is calledkuku, which comes in different versions like the ones with potatoes or the ones with herbs. This type of fritter resembles a crustlessquiche.
Whitebait fritters are popular in New Zealand.[17]
Peixinhos da horta is a traditional dish inPortuguese cuisine. The name of the dish is literally translated as "little fish from the vegetable garden", as it resembles small pieces of colorful fish.[18] Its preparation involves coating green beans, bell peppers, squash, or other vegetables in a wheat flour batter and deep-frying them.[19] It was introduced toJapan by Portuguese sailors in the sixteenth century, where it eventually developed intotempura.[20][21][22]
InBritishfish and chip shops, the fish and chips can be accompanied by "fritters", which means a food item, such as a slice ofpotato, apineapple ring, anapple ring[23] or chunks, ormushy peas fried in batter. Hence: "potato fritter", "pineapple fritter", "apple fritter", "pea fritter", etc. At home and at school, fritters are also sometimes made with meat, especiallySpam andcorned beef.Afritter roll orroll and fritter is a potato fritter inside abread roll, served with salt and vinegar.[24]
The apple fritter is a fried pastry popular within Canada and the United States. Early versions of apple fritters appear in Martha Washington'sBooke of Cookery, a manuscript dating to the 17th century, which includes various fritter recipes common in colonial American kitchens.[25] An apple fritter recipe typically includes a batter made from flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and a bit of oil. Fresh apples are peeled, cored, and chopped, then folded into the batter. The fritters are deep-fried in vegetable oil and, once golden, are coated in cinnamon-sugar for a sweet finish.[26] In Canada, the apple fritter remains especially popular;Tim Hortons, a leading Canadian coffee and doughnut chain, reported that the apple fritter became their top-selling doughnut in 2023.[27]
Conch fritters are commonly prepared inThe Bahamas.[28]
Tortitas are golden-brown fritters made in Mexico fromMexican cuisine.[29] One variant is thetortita de papa (potato fritter). This dish consists of boiled potato dough fried in oil. The first written recipes for tortitas can be found in Mexican cookbooks from the 19th century.[30]
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