Spiced Sweet Corn Fritters

I’m currently hooked on an Aussie reality TV show called My Kitchen Rules. Oh. My. Gosh. Real live drama and cooking competition combined makes great after-work entertainment. Watching this programme really shows how much post-editing TV stations do…it’s so obvious how they pick a couple to focus on each week and make them the ones to love or hate. You should see the real-time comments on Twitter about the contestants and the nicknames they are given. Hilarious! It’s double the fun – watching and tweeting that is! Yeah, I’m hooked – big time!

Anyway, this post has nothing to do with the show I’m just a little distracted. And I’m currently craving for frozen yogurt. Again, not the point of this post.

We’re talking about corn. Sweet, succulent corn – in a can. Don’t diss the canned stuff cos they are good! I always try to have a couple of cans stocked in the pantry because these little, golden morsels of goodness are very versatile and handy for when you’re out of fresh food because you haven’t made a trip to the markets. By you, I mean me. Slack much?

I’ve made these spiced corn fritters before and they are so easy and so good. It’s one of the few vegetarian dishes that I make which the hubs has no qualms about – he actually really enjoys it and doesn’t go “where’s the meat?”. It’s usually served as a snack or appetiser, but make enough of them and it’s a complete, yummy and (rather) healthy meal.

Spiced Sweet Corn Fritters with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce
Adapted from Simply Recipes
Makes about 16 – 20 fritters

Dipping Sauce

• 3/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red chili pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Fritters

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups of corn kernels
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced (about half a cup)
• Canola, or peanut oil (a high smoke point oil) for frying

Make the dipping sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium high, let boil for 5-10 minutes or so, until the mixture becomes somewhat syrupy. Remove from heat and let cool. The sauce should continue to thicken as it cools. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little water to it to thin it out a bit.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, ground coriander, and ground cumin in a medium bowl. Add egg, lemon juice and water. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the corn and spring onions. Stir until just combined.

Heat a large frying pan on medium high heat. Add enough oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. When oil is hot (shimmering not smoking), spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons worth of fritter batter into the pan to form one fritter, patting it down with the back of the spoon as soon as it is in the pan. Work in batches. Leave about 1/2 inch between the fritters in the pan. Let cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping the fritters when they are nicely browned on one side. When browned on the other side, remove the fritters to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Serve hot with dipping sauce.

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