Corn and Vegetable Fritters

Last year when I visited my Mak Ee (my Mum's eldest sister), her Indonesian maid served us vegetable fritters for tea. The fritters were freshly prepared and served piping hot and they were so crispy and delicious! We all dug in heartily even though we had just arrived with very full stomachs. If only we had not eaten so much during lunch, we would have polished off the whole lot. Anyway, my Mum requested to "tapau" the leftovers for later :)

My Ee-Ee (who is my Mum's youngest sister and the one who taught me cooking) very eagerly approached the maid for the recipe. My Ee-Ee is a very good interrogator when it comes to asking for recipes. She will hound you until you give it to her hah! hah! The maid was very forthcoming but due to the language barrier, we did not quite get the whole thing.

Anyway, I searched for the recipe on the internet and found my friend K. Nor's recipe for Cucur Jagung (Corn Fritters). I also checked many other related recipes including MaDiHaA's recipe for Cucur Udang Ranggup (Crispy Prawn Fritters). So I decided to combine these two Mek Terengganu's recipes and come up with my version of Corn Fritters.

In my first attempt, I added prawns with the corn and other vegetables but I did not add any seasoning except for salt and pepper. And since this was my first time, my batter was a bit too thick which resulted in fritters that were crispy but heavy (hard). Also because there was no added seasoning like chicken stock or all purpose seasoning, the taste was a bit flat. But all in all I was satisfied and enjoyed the fritters very much.

I loved the fritters so much that I decided to make another batch the next day. So it is no wonder that it is very hard for me to stay slim. But at this point, I don't care. This time I decided to make it all vegetables and I added an all purpose seasoning. I also made sure that my batter was not too thick. 

The batter must also not be too runny or else it will break up when it hits the hot oil. It must be viscous enough to hold the ingredients together but at the same time it must not be so thick as to make the fritters hard. As a guide, your batter must be thick but it must still be able to flow when you tilt your mixing bowl. If it is too thick, it won't move. Get it?

My second batch of fritters were much better than the first. But I think chicken stock or ikan bilis stock will make for a better tasting seasoning. I guess you can even put spices or curry powder to make it even more exciting. Check out Joyce's Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters to get more ideas.

These corn fritters must be served hot/warm while they are crispy. However, should you have leftovers that have gone soft, simply reheat in the oven at 180C for 12-15 minutes, turning at half time. They will crisp up again and taste even better. Serve with your favorite chilli sauce. This is great as a snack for family and friends especially at gatherings.

The recipe below is just a rough guide, just put in as much or as little ingredients as you like. You can just estimate the flour and pour the water a little at a time and adjust as you go along.

Corn and Vegetable  Fritters
Recipe source : Adapted from Secubit Garam and Dari Dapur MaDiHaA

Ingredients :
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 1 red chilli, finely minced
- 1/2 cup long beans, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/4 cup spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chives (kuchai), thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup corriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup prawns, diced (optional)
- 1 big onion finely minced
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoon seasoning or to taste (chicken/ikan bilis stock or all purpose seasoning)
- pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups self-raising flour (so that I need not add baking powder)
- Water

Method :
- Put everything except water into a mixing bowl.
- Stir the ingredients to mix and add water bit by bit to form a batter.
- Heat oil in wok or deep frying pan.
- When oil is hot, use a tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot oil and fry till golden brown.
- You can fry a few fritters at a time but don't overcrowd the pan
- Drain on paper towels and serve hot with your favourite dip.

Notes :
1. Batter must not be too thick or too runny. Should be thick enough but can still flow when you tilt your mixing bowl.
2. If you have leftover fritters, you can heat them up in the oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes, turning at half time. They will crisp up again.
3. The above recipe yielded me about 12 fritters.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Esther of Copycake Kitchen.