Cauliflower fritters

April 17, 2013  •  Category:

I found this recipe in a cookbook I bought recently while in Kurdistan (Iraq); the cookbook was in Arabic and featured the recipes of a very popular TV cooking chef personality in the Arab world, Mrs Manal el-Alem. It took reading a few recipes until I realized the book had been pirated because none of the recipes I was reading had matching titles and all the images were missing. The price of that book (the equivalent of US $4) should have given me a clue. 


These fritters can be baked or fried. They taste delicate and delightful; they are a perfect light lunch (can stuff them in a pita).

INGREDIENTS: 4 servings

  •  1/2 medium-size cauliflower (about 4 cups of florets)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 tbsp butter or oil
  • 4 tbsp AP flour
  • Spices: salt (to taste), 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp cumin, dash of paprika (optional)

fry cauliflower fritters

1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C); grease 3 cookie sheets and set aside; (if frying, pour the oil into a large skillet. Cut cauliflower into small florets; Pour 6 cups of water into a large pot, add the cumin and salt and bring to a boil. Add the florets and simmer over medium heat for 4 minutes; drain. Chop the florets when cooled and transfer to a bowl; add the eggs, parsley, cumin, salt, flour, baking powder and chopped onion. Mix to combine. 

2. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into a greased pan; continue with the remaining batter. (space them at least one inch apart). Place a teaspoon of oil or butter on each fritter. Bake for 10 minutes or so until set. Serve warm with bread if desired. If frying, heat the oil in a large skillet and spoon the batter onto the hot oil; cook for 3 minutes on one side, then flip and cook on the other side till golden. Serve.

Deir under fog

Village of Deir in the Chouf mountains under the fog.

Comments

26 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Rosa says:

    What a gorgeous view!

    Those cauliflower fritters are very appetizing. A great recipe.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. samir says:

    ..these are delightful and flavorful..famously made in Palestine and Jordan as well ,called m’shaat. some people add green onion .mint, baharat depending on mood and ingredients at hand.,,,.great pics of your village

  3. samir says:

    ps never tried them baked,always are fried,any good that way ?

  4. vagabonde says:

    Excuses-moi on était en voyage – oui une recette pour des feuilles de vignes farcies aux riz, pas à la viande.

    J’ai mangé des choux-fleurs comme tu le montres, quand j’étais en Algérie – c’est bon, je vais copier ta recette.

    Tout à l’heure en commandant, en français, un livre d’Andrée Chedid, j’ai vu qu’il y avait, en anglais le titre Return to Beirut – tu l’as lu? Il y a peut-être un autre titre pour le livre en français, car je ne l’ai pas trouvé dans Amazon France.

    • Joumana says:

      @vagabonde: je n’ai pas lu ce livre, mais ça m’intéresse; bon, il y a feuille de vigne et il y a feuille de blettes, les 2 sont faites de la même façon; voici le lien
      https://www.tasteofbeirut.com/2012/09/stuffed-chard-leaves-vegan/
      si tu n’as pas de feuilles de vigne fraiches, je te conseille les feuilles de blettes; c’est meilleur vu que c’est frais çça fond dans la bouche alors que les autres en boite sont dures en général.

  5. weavethousandflavors says:

    Oh gosh Joumana! I just drooled and nearly fell off my chair. Making this within the week dearie :))

    You rock!!!

    chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors

  6. Susan says:

    What a gorgeous photo and equally delightful recipe. What a delicious way to enjoy cauliflower!

  7. Belinda @zomppa says:

    I adore cauliflower and love this way of making it!

  8. domi says:

    Superbes tes beignets de chou fleur, ils sont très appétissants….

  9. Elizabeth Mars says:

    These look great. Cauliflower would have to be one of the most versatile vegetables. I will definitely give these a try.

  10. Nuts about food says:

    Maybe not so light if fried, but certainly delicious! Love the photo of them sizzling in the pot.

  11. Ozlem's Turkish Tabl says:

    Dear Joumana, these gorgeous fritters reminded me our mucver – the zucchini fritters : ) funnily enough our local instructor made us the courgette fritters, though hers had also milk in it and more flour – I am in favor of your sizzling, delicious version! great way to spice up the cawliflower : )

  12. vagabonde says:

    Thanks for the recipe link Joumana I’ll copy it. Here is the link for Return to Beirut : http://www.amazon.com/Return-Beirut-Andr%C3%A9e-Chedid/dp/1852421495/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366329091&sr=1-1&keywords=return+to+beirut you can get it used inexpensively.

  13. Lisa the Gourmet Wog says:

    Joumana my mother in law made these all the time before she passed and I absolutely loved them, thank you for posting the recipe, its brought back many memories.

  14. Jenn@slim-shoppin says:

    I never would have thought about making that with cauliflower – love it!

  15. Oui, Chef says:

    I hardly ever cook with cauliflower…such a shame.

  16. MaryAthenes says:

    Miam, il faut absolument que j’essaye !
    Ton aventure avec le livre pirate me rappelle une amie qui achetait des dvd ici a Athenes, dans la rue, et quand on les passait on voyait le film sur l’ecran d’un cinema, penché et avec les tetes des personnes assises devant, Haha !
    Bises d’athenes

    • Joumana says:

      @MaryAthènes: Ici aussi on achète des DVD piratés, c’est d’ailleurs la règle! 🙂 mais pas aussi exotiques~ sans têtes de spectateurs, 🙁

  17. zerrin says:

    Wow! This is a great recipe with cauliflower! I’m always in search for new ways to use it since my husband is not a fan of it. I’m sure he will love this fritter version! Thank you!

  18. Oksana says:

    I love your friters. I am from Ukraine and we cook something similar to fritters, it’s called oladyi. Most Ukrainians eat them with sour cream. They are absolutely delicious!!!

  19. Anita says:

    LOVE THEM!! THANK You:)

  20. mommazayat says:

    hello joumana,
    My family makes these similar to yours called “idget” minus the cauliflower, sometimes we just fry cauliflower on the side and serve with the idget, with a bowl of lentil soup. With that being said, i know these would be delicious. I think i will make this for dinner with some lamb shank lentil soup thanks

  21. Namir says:

    Very nice recipie. My mom used to make the same fritters using lettuce instade of cauliflower when we were still in Iraq, and it tastes great too.

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