(from Dragonwagon’s Bean by Bean: A Cookbook)

Makes 6 – 8 fritters, serving 2 to 3 as an entrée. Also can be miniaturized as a starter.

For the batter:

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

¼ cup unroasted chickpea flour (“besan” in India – look for it in an Indian grocery, large natural food markets, sometimes gluten-free supermarket sections.)

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon salt

A few grinds of black pepper

Dash of Pickapeppa, Worcestershire, or vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup


For extra-light fritters, add 1 teaspoon baking powder to the batter. Or separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the other batter ingredients, the stiffly beat the whites and fold in the vegetable fritter mixture just before frying.


For the Vegetables:

About 1/3 pound green beans, tipped, tailed, and finely sliced crosswise (1 & ½ cups)

1 carrot grated

1 onion, very finely chopped, or 3 scallions, derooted, whites and 2 to 3 inches of green finely chopped

½ cup raw fresh corn kernels (cut from 1 ear)


Feel free to mix up the vegetables – use yellow and green beans, parsnip with the carrot, or shredded sweet potato instead of carrot, or add diced red or green bell pepper or fine matchsticks of eggplant, or sliced mushrooms.
For cooking and serving:

About ½ cup mild vegetable oil, such as corn, canola, or peanut, or more as needed, for frying.

Mixed fruit salsa, Thai sweet red chile sauce, and/or plain or flavored tofu mayonnaise for dipping.

Set out paper towels or split brown paper bags for draining the finished fritters. Unless serving right out of the skillet, place a baking sheet in the oven set on its lowest setting; you’ll stow the completed fritters there to keep them warm until you’ve finished frying them all.

Make the batter. Either buzz all the batter ingredients together in a food processor, pausing to scrape down the sides, until incorporated, or whisk the heck out of them in a large bowl.

Stir the vegetables into the batter, making sure everything is well distributed.

Place the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and set an instant-read frying thermometer in it. When the oil has reached good frying temperature, 360 degrees F to 365 degrees F, drop in a small spoonful of batter to test it. There should be an immediate sizzling sound and bubbles racing around the fritter, or your oil isn’t hot enough. When the fritter sizzles as it should, drop in additional batter by rounded tablespoonfuls, working in batches to avoid crowding the pan.

Cook the fritters, turning once with a spatula, until they are golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.

Drain the finished fritters on the prepared paper towels and serve immediately, or transfer them, in a single layer, to the baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm.

They’ll wait for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice.

Ann's Article:

Bean by Bean – A Cookbook

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