Cilantro and Onion fritters

Fritters are a very popular Indian snack. They can be made with any vegetable. Chickpea flour is typically used as a binding agent to hold all the vegetables together. Cilantro fritters are not very common, but I had bought a huge bunch of cilantro for a dollar fifty and couldn't use such a large amount for garnishing. Hence I decided to make them into fritters. My dad used to make them when he had excess cilantro growing on his terrace garden, but then I wasn't so fond of them. But not having eaten them since I left home i.e. a zillion years I was missing them.

I have added onions to provide a crunch and break the monotony of just cilantro fritters and instead of chopped green chili, I have added cayenne. I find green chili's very misleading in their heat index. Sometimes they are super hot and sometimes mild - hence I decided to skip the uncertainty. I have also added some rice flour to the chickpea flour for extra crispiness.

Cilantro and onion fritters

7 tablespoons chickpea flour
2 tablespoons rice flour
1 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cups tightly packed cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Canola oil for frying

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the chickpea flour, rice flour, salt and cayenne if using. Add the chopped onion and cilantro and toss well with the flour mixture to form a tight batter. Add a tablespoon of water at a time to the mixture, till you get the onions and cilantro leaves to stick to each other. The batter should not be too wet or too dry. 
2. Heat a pan with canola oil for deep frying. The oil temperature should be around 350 F. If it is too hot, the fritters will brown on the outside and be uncooked and doughy on the inside. 
3. Using a small ice-cream scoop, scoop out the batter and drop into the hot oil. Fry for around two minutes on each side. Do not overcrowd the pot, otherwise the temperature of the oil will drop too much and leave you with very greasy fritters.
4. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil.
5. Serve hot with ketchup or just by itself.

Makes about 10 -12 fritters.

Serving suggestions: Makes a great appetizer with drinks and a nice side dish to eat with rice and lentils.