These are stunningly delicious. It’s one of those recipes that looks good under assessment but turns out better than you would have envisioned. These fritters are the best dish I’ve made in the past few months, and I highly recommend them.
There’s no real secret to the recipe; it’s quite straightforward. Just be careful not to plop the fritters into the hot oil and splash yourself.
There are numerous variations of this dish, but this recipe is based on one by British-Bangladeshi food writer Dina Begum.
What you’ll need
- 320g (12oz) raw peeled and deveined prawns or shrimp, tails removed
- 1 red onion, minced
- 1t ground coriander
- 1t chili powder
- 1t salt (not kosher)
- 1t garlic paste or 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1t ginger paste or 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 hot green chili (you can remove the seeds for less “heat”)
- 30g (1oz) cilantro, finely chopped
- 55g (2oz) rice flour
- 55g (2oz) plain flour
- Neutral oil for frying
- Hot sauce for dipping and lime wedges (optional)
What to do
Pulse the prawns in a food processor 3 or 4 times until the prawns are finely chopped. Don’t overdo it and turn them into prawn paste. If you don’t have a food processor, you could just finely chop the prawns with a chef’s knife.
In a large bowl, combine all the rest of the ingredients but the oil and flours. Add the prawns and the flours, stirring and gradually adding 100ml (3.5fl oz) of cold water. Check the mixture consistency often as you add the water. It should be “thick and falling slowly off a spoon.” You may not need all the water, depending on how watery your prawns were. Basically, you should be able to form meatball-size prawn balls that will hold together as you form them for putting into the cooking oil.
In a 10- or 12-inch heavy frypan add about 2 inches of the cooking oil and start heating it to 350 degrees F.
While the oil is heating, form the fritters by rolling heaping tablespoons of the mixture into slightly flattened balls until the mixture is used up. You can keep them on a parchment paper-lined plate until the oil has reached temperature.
When the oil is 350 degrees, carefully add the fritters, one at a time, to the oil. To avoid crowding the pan, you’ll have to make them in batches. Cook them for 2 – 3 minutes per side (larger ones will need more time) before removing them from the oil with tongs or a metal spider onto a paper towel-lined plate.
If you’re concerned about doneness, insert an instant thermometer probe into a large fritter to measure the internal temperature. Shrimp is said to be safe at 145 degrees F, but you’ll find that the length of time recommended should get them to about 185 degrees. Don’t worry about the shrimp being overdone—they’re not whole shrimp so it doesn’t really matter.
Serve hot with hot sauce (spring roll sauce works, too, but it’s probably scandalous for this dish) and lime wedges.
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