These delicious cauliflower fritters are inspired by a Palestinian dish known as ‘mshat’.
They’re often eaten as a breakfast or snack (but we usually enjoy them as a light lunch!) and they’re served with a spicy tomato and dill dip called ‘dagga’, which we include in this recipe. Enjoy!
Notes:
- If you prefer, you can cook these fritters ahead of time. Simply store them in the fridge in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. Then just fry them a little to warm them up before serving.
- Alternatively, you can serve these fritters with a fresh yoghurt dip. Simply combine plant-based yoghurt with lemon juice, salt and fresh dill.
Things to know:
- These fritters are inspired by a dish known as ‘mshat’, which originates from Palestine. They’re often eaten for breakfast or as a snack, but we prefer to enjoy these as a side or a light lunch. For example, you can add these fritters to warm pitters, along with a spoonful of the ‘dagga’ dip and lettuce.
- This is a wonderfully rustic dish, so you can incorporate other veggies you might have lying around. Just be sure to chop them small so they incorporate well into the batter.
- ‘Mshat’ are also traditionally cooked in quite a lot of oil, essentially ‘deep fried’. We prefer to keep things healthier and fry our fritters in a glug of oil using a non-stick frying pan. The results are still amazing!
Cauliflower Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower
- 100 g chickpea flour
- 120 ml water
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled + chopped
- 1 shallot, peeled + thinly sliced
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- salt + pepper
- olive oil
For the ‘dagga’ dip:
- 1 small handful of fresh dill, chopped
- 1/2 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, peeled + finely chopped
- 1/2 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juice only
Method
- Cut the cauliflower through the middle into eight slices. Add each slice to a large pot of boiling water. Boil for 12-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
- Meanwhile, using a whisk, combine the chickpea flour and the water in a large mixing bowl. Then add the garlic, shallot, spring onions and parsley to the bowl.
- Place a pan on a medium-high heat and fry the cumin seeds for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic. Then add the seeds to the mixing bowl, along with the smoked paprika, turmeric and generous pinches of salt and pepper.
- Once the cauliflower has finished cooking, drain it and leave it to steam dry until cool enough to touch.
- Once cool, transfer the cauliflower to a board and roughly chop it into small pieces (it's important to avoid any large pieces, otherwise the fritters might fall apart). Add the chopped cauliflower to the mixing bowl and give everything a good stir.
- Heat a generous glug of oil in a non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, spoon 2 heaped tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Using a spatula, ease it into a circle shape, pushing down a little so the fritter becomes compact and holds its shape. Fry for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden. Note: try to avoid flipping the fritters before it turns golden and crispy, otherwise they might fall apart. Repeat until all of the mixture has been fried, adding more oil to the pan each time.
- To prepare the dip, combine all the ingredients in a bowl along with pinches of salt and pepper and a generous glug of olive oil.
- Serve the fritters with an extra pinch of salt and alongside the dagga dip.