Recipe for Indian-Style Zucchini Fritters

Name: Recipe for Indian Style Zucchini Fritters
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 Medium-Sized Zucchinis; 5 tbsp Besan (Gram Flour); 2 tsp Rice Flour; 1 tsp Refined Flour; 1 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Ajwain (Carom Seeds); 3 Green Chillies; Finely Chopped; 3 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander leaves; ⅓ tsp Turmeric Powder; 1 Big Onion; Thinly sliced; Oil; for frying

It is that time of the year when zucchini gets harvested in Germany. This is the best time to buy zucchini from a supermarket or pick some from a nearby farm. Recently, when some of our friends visited a farm and got us loads of zucchini, I started thinking of the various recipes I could try with this fresh harvest.

The first recipe I came up with was Indian Style Zucchini fritters. I took inspiration from ‘Pakode’ – a popular Indian tea time snack made by dipping vegetables like potatoes, onions, etc., in a batter made with gram flour and frying them. Pakode, served with a hot cup of tea, is a match made in heaven and tastes best on a cold rainy day.

I made my Zucchini Fritters in two ways: I pan-fried some (like pancakes), and I deep-fried some (like fritters). The pan-fried ones were soft, whereas the deep-fried ones were crispy. Both were delicious. I served them with some salad greens and ketchup.

So, let’s start with the recipe.

Ingredients needed for Indian Style Zucchini Fritters:

2 Medium-Sized Zucchinis
5 tbsp Besan (Gram Flour)
2 tsp Rice Flour
1 tsp Refined Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ajwain (Carom Seeds)
3 Green Chillies; Finely Chopped
3 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander leaves
⅓ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Big Onion; Thinly sliced
Oil; for frying

Method to make Indian Style Zucchini Fritters:

Wash and julienne the zucchinis.
Add salt. Mix well and leave it for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, you will notice that the zucchini has released a lot of water. Squeeze out the water. Discard the water and transfer the squeezed zucchini to a mixing bowl.
Add 1 tsp oil, turmeric powder, ajwain (carom seeds), green chillies, fresh coriander leaves and thinly sliced onions.
Add besan (gram flour), rice flour and refined flour.
Mix well.
Heat a pan. Brush oil on the surface. Take small portions of the mixture and fry them in the pan. Add some oil on the surface and the edges.
Cook on medium heat by flipping a couple of times.
When it gets a golden hue, remove them. Serve with any chutney or ketchup.
Alternatively, you can deep fry them. For that, heat oil in a pan. Squeeze the zucchini mix to remove excess water ( if any). Then put portions of it into medium hot oil.
Fry till it becomes crispy. Remove and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Some additional notes:

After resting the zucchini with salt, squeezing out the water completely (before adding the flour and spices) is essential. If there is extra moisture, the fritters will soak a lot of oil when deep frying them. However, after mixing, if you feel that there is still some moisture, squeeze out as much water as possible before putting them in oil. Fry in medium hot oil.
For the pan-fried fritters, make sure that the heat is always kept to medium. Since the pan-fried ones are a little thick, they will need some time to cook from the inside. High heat will make them dark brown on the outside and raw on the inside. Medium heat will ensure the batter gets cooked thoroughly and the fritters get a nice golden colour outside.
If you feel that the salt is less ( because we squeezed out all the water, we lost some salt), sprinkle some black salt on the fried fritters.
Add about 1/3 tsp Baking Soda to the batter if you want the fritters extra crispy. Always be careful with the amount of baking soda in any batter/dough/mixture you intend to deep fry. If the quantity is more, the batter will soak in a lot of oil during frying, and the fritters will become greasy.

Ingredient Sourcing in Germany:

While you can get some of the ingredients for this recipe from a local supermarket, for the Indian ingredients, you can visit any Indian shop near you. You can check the online store of Spicelands. They are a big store in Frankfurt, delivering all across Germany.

Alternatively, you can even buy these ingredients from amazon.de. Links are given below:

Gram Flour: https://amzn.to/44oTbfQ
Rice Flour: https://amzn.to/3pqMdbE
Refined Flour: https://amzn.to/3qWmsQH
Carom Seeds: https://amzn.to/3NNAv45
Turmeric Powder: https://amzn.to/3Xt7YnE

Equipment needed for the recipe:

Mixing Bowl:https://amzn.to/3V8ZPU
Pan: https://amzn.to/41rC8Im
Julienne Cutter: https://amzn.to/46oTNUL
Pan for deep frying: https://amzn.to/3NRAv2Y

Here is the recipe in printable format: