Spiced aubergine fritters

Name: Spiced aubergine fritters
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 large aubergine; salt and pepper; salt and pepper; a good pinch each of ground cinnamon, ground cumin and ground cardamom; a good pinch each of ground cinnamon, ground cumin and ground cardamom; a good pinch each of ground cinnamon, ground cumin and ground cardamom; 1 tsp grated orange zest; sunflower oil, for frying; lemon wedges, to serve; 4 tbsp self-raising flour; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp water; 2 medium egg whites

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

How to Cook Better

By Shaun Hill

Published 2004

About

Deep-frying is a little-used method for vegetables, and is best known for its role in the Japanese dish tempura, in which vegetables and prawns are coated in a light batter, deep-fried, then served with a spicy dip. This is a more robust batter and the meaty texture of the aubergine works well with the ground spices.

Ingredients

1 large aubergine
salt and pepper
a good pinch each of ground cinnamon, ground cumin and

Asia
Japan
Starter
Vegetarian

Method

Slice the aubergine into 5mm rounds and season with salt, pepper, spices and orange zest.
For the batter, whisk together the flour, oil and water - you want the thickness of porridge. Separately, and with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the whites into the batter.
Heat the sunflower oil until hot but not smoking. Coat each slice o