Aubergine Fritters & Spicy Tomato Chutney

Aubergine Fritters are one of those foods that are really simple but so satisfying: golden chickpea batter on the outside, soft and creamy inside. I think these could even convert those who don’t usually like aubergine, but the recipe works with courgette too. Paired with a sweet and spicy tomato chutney, they make a fantastic starter, snack or part of an Indian feast.

AN OLD FAVOURITE

For some reason, the other day I suddenly thought of the aubergine fritters we used to buy when we lived in Leicester. Even though, at the time, I wasn’t a big fan of aubergine we’d always include some when we got a haul of goodies from one of the city’s sweet marts.

Despite their name, sweet marts, along with their colourful range of Indian confectionery like barfi (a rich, condensed milk, fudge-like sweet) and jalebi (deep fried batter soaked in syrup) also sell vegetarian savoury snacks like samosa, fried lentil balls and dhokra (a sponge with mustard seeds).

Sitting among those spicy goodies, I suppose the plain aubergine fritters might seem a little dull. But there was something about the combination of soft aubergine and golden batter that we just loved.

AUBERGINE FRITTERS

I don’t know why I hadn’t made Aubergine Fritters until recently. I’ve made aloo bonda/batata vada (spiced potato balls in batter) and onion bhaji for years and Aubergine Fritters are even easier than those.

The fritters are simply thin slices of aubergine dipped in a batter of chickpea flour and water which are then fried in oil.

Chickpea flour, usually sold as gram or sometimes besan flour, is very widely available these days. It’s pretty cheap (I pay around £2 for a two kilo bag) and I use it a lot, not just for Indian snacks like these but as a binder in my Baked Falafel. If you haven’t seen my post about Socca, the Mediterranean chickpea flour flatbread, then you must take a look at that too.

As I’ve mentioned, the aubergine fritters we’d buy were very plain. But I decided to gussy up my batter with ground ginger, chilli, turmeric and fenugreek plus garlic granules, coriander leaf, fennel and cumin seed. Apart from adding flavour, I like the way they give more visual interest to the batter. Of course you could leave out some or all of these, or substitute your own favourites.

Once you’ve added your chosen spices, herbs and a little salt to the sifted gram flour, all you do is gradually whisk in enough water to make a thickish batter. If you want to make a thicker, more spongy coating, then add a pinch of baking powder. Then you’re ready to get frying.

FRYING

You could deep fry the Aubergine Fritters, either in an electric deep fryer or wok. My preference is to use a smallish frying pan with about four centimetres depth of oil and cook them in batches.

The fritters will only need a couple of minutes each side. Make sure your aubergine slices are around four millimetres thick though. Much thicker, and you might not get the lovely creamy texture of well cooked aubergine.

If you’re going to eat the Aubergine Fritters straight away, have ready a baking tray in a preheated, low oven. Put each batch of cooked fritters in there while you fry the rest.

I’ve found that any leftover fritters reheat successfully too. Again, put them on a preheated baking tray, but this time have the oven moderately hot. That way, you’ll get a crisper batter without overcooking the aubergine itself.

SWEET & SPICY TOMATO CHUTNEY

Like many other Indian snacks, Aubergine Fritters are even better with a chutney for dipping. The contrast of golden, hot batter, soft aubergine and a tongue-tingling chutney is a delicious one.

The sweet and spicy Tomato Chutney I made to go with these fritters isn’t a chutney in the English sense. It doesn’t need a long, slow cooking with vinegar among the ingredients. This one can be made in not much more than half an hour. Be aware that without vinegar the chutney won’t have long keeping qualities, but should be fine in the fridge for around five days.

For my chutney, I used half a standard tin of chopped tomatoes. This produced about the right amount to serve with the Aubergine Fritters you’ll get from one medium sized aubergine. But it’s easy enough to scale up the recipe at the end of the post if you want to.

The chutney’s made by first heating whole spices (fennel, cumin, black mustard seeds) followed by bay leaf, dried chilli flakes and the tomatoes. After about 10 minutes cooking, I stir in ground fenugreek (one of my favourite spices for Indian cooking) and turmeric plus sugar, sultanas and salt. Then it’s just a case of leaving to bubble away until thick and tasty. This will take around 20 minutes. And that’s it.

Best served at room temperature, you’ll want to cook your chutney first then set it aside while you make the Aubergine Fritters.

SIMPLE & DELICIOUS

My first batch of Aubergine Fritters turned out even tastier than I’d hoped. In fact, I had to quickly stash some in the fridge before I ate the whole lot.

Aubergine Fritters, like onion bhaji and other pakora or vegetable fritters, are a good example of how, if you have a well stocked spice cupboard and a bag of gram flour, you can make a whole host of delicious Indian savoury snacks pretty easily.

Look out for more recipes using versatile gram flour coming to the blog soon.

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Aubergine Fritters & Spicy Tomato Chutney

Golden chickpea batter on the outside, soft & creamy inside, these fritters just might convert those who don’t usually like aubergine, but you could substitute courgette. Paired with a sweet & spicy tomato chutney, Aubergine Fritters make a fantastic starter, snack or part of an Indian feast.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack, Chutney, Starter, Lunch, Light Meal

Cuisine Indian, Vegetarian, Vegan

Keyword aubergine fritter, pakora

Servings 24 fritters (approx)

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

For the Spicy Tomato Chutney

• 1 tbsp cooking oil (e.g. sunflower)
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes use more if you'd like a hotter chutney
• 200 g chopped tinned tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 0.5 tsp turmeric
• 25 g sultanas
• 1-2 tsp brown sugar
• salt to taste

For the Aubergine Fritters

• 1 medium aubergine
• 100 g gram (chickpea) flour
• 1 tbsp coriander leaf, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 0.5 tsp turmeric
• 0.5 tsp ground fenugreek
• 0.5 tsp ground ginger
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.25 tsp chilli powder
• 125 ml water
• Oil for frying e.g. sunflower

Instructions

Make the Spicy Tomato Chutney first

1. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over moderate heat.

2. When the oil is hot, add the mustard, cumin and fennel seeds & fry until they start to sizzle and change colour.

3. Stir in the bay leaf and chilli flakes.

4. Stir in the tomatoes, bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the fenugreek, turmeric, sultanas plus salt and sugar to taste and stir well.

   Continue to simmer until the chutney is thick and glossy with most of the liquid evaporated. This will take around 20 minutes.

6. Transfer the chutney to a bowl and leave to cool to room temperature while you make the Aubergine Fritters.

Making the Aubergine Fritters

1. Preheat the oven to low, with a baking tray inside,

2. Cut the aubergine into round slices approximately 4mm thick. Set aside while you make the batter.

3. Sift the gram flour into a large bowl then whisk in the coriander leaf and all the spices.

4. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in a little of the water. Using your whisk, draw some of the flour into the water and mix to make a paste.

   Gradually add the rest of the water, drawing in more of the flour as you go until they're combined into a batter.

5. Heat the oil in a deepish frying pan (or use an electric deep fryer or wok) to a moderate heat.

6. Take an aubergine slice, dip it into the batter so that it's completely covered, then drop it carefully into the hot oil. Add more of the battered slices, but don't crowd the pan.

7. Cook until golden all over (approx 4 min), turning the slices half way through.

   Remove the fritters from the oil and keep warm in a low oven. Make more batches of fritters in the same way until all the aubergine and batter is used up.

8. Serve the hot fritters with the Spicy Tomato Chutney for dipping.

Recipe Notes

If you're not eating all the Aubergine Fritters straight away, cool and refrigerate for up to two days. Reheat on a tray in a moderate oven until piping hot (approx 8 minutes).

Not suitable for freezing.