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. 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 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Using a spatula, ease it into a circle shape, pushing down a little so the fritter holds its shape. Fry for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden. 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.