Cauliflower Fritters – Em Shaat My Way
Em Shaat is in my opinion a Middle Eastern comfort food. It’s really a cauliflowe
r fritter made with boiled cauliflower that’s been battered and fried.
One of my Palestinian friends taught me how to make this yummy cauliflower fritter years ago. She used all purpose flour to make her batter, it was good, but a bit heavy and not very crisp. I suppose fritters weren’t meant to be crispy.
But I like things crispy so I added my own twist to this traditional Middle Eastern recipe. The secret is Mochiko (sweet rice flour). Mochiko batter is lighter and when fried turns into a crispy delight.
The recipe calls for cumin and turmeric. Both spices are used in many Middle Eastern dishes. They compliment the cauliflower nicely giving it a mild exotic flavor.
I suppose you could say that I’ve created a Fusion dish; Med meets Asia! But really, my Middle Eastern husband loves my version!
I usually serve cauliflower dish as a main course, it’s a nice (not so healthy) alternative to a meat course. But it can be served as an appetizer, snack, or side dish as well. It’s usually served warm, but it’s pretty darn good cold too!
Ingredients:
1 Medium Cauliflower – remove the leaves but keep whole
2 Cloves Garlic – finely minced
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp. Cumin
1/2 Tsp. Turmeric
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Parsley – finely chopped
Oil for frying
Directions:
Boil Cauliflower until tender – about 20 minutes
Whisk all ingredients except cauliflower and oil together in a large mixing bowl – batter will be thin
Drain and Break up the cauliflower and stir into batter
Heat about 1 1/2″ of oil in a pan
Drop cauliflower mixture into oil and fry each side until golden brown
Serve hot or cold
It goes great with a plain yogurt dipping sauce!
- 1 Medium Cauliflower leaves removed but keep whole
- 2 Cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/2 Tsp. Cumin
- 1/2 Tsp. Turmeric
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- 1 Tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/4 Cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- Oil for frying
- Boil Cauliflower until tender - about 20 minutes
- Whisk all ingredients except cauliflower and oil together in a large mixing bowl - batter will be thin
- Drain and Break up the cauliflower and stir into batter
- Heat about 1 1/2" of oil in a pan
- Drop cauliflower mixture into oil and fry each side until golden brown
- Serve hot or cold It goes great with a plain yogurt dipping sauce!
