Ramazan recipes with Images: Vegetable fritters served with teriyaki sauce and a side of nostalgia

This year we bring you our recipes that are well loved by our families and friends in the month of Ramazan.
Updated 26 Apr, 2022

Every family has different Ramazan traditions and unique dishes they love to eat during the month and Images is no different. This Ramazan, we wanted to share with you some recipes that are close to our hearts.

Of course there is no Ramazan without pakoras but we have our own take on them. We bring you vegetable fritters unlike any you have tried before. What you may not know is that these fritters have a story of their own.

It all started when leftovers from other pakora mixture was left in the fridge for God knows what we were about to make next. One day my mother came up with the idea of cutting the vegetables differently and giving them a new shape, which including mixing all of them together without even knowing what goes together and what doesn't.

It started out as a flop as we weren't able to nail the consistency. But every Ramazan we made the fritters till we perfected the recipe. Almost 10 years later, these fritters are a staple in our house be it in Ramazan or on a gloomy afternoon or a rainy evening. Not only do we use vegetables for the fritters but the next morning, we mix in eggs that could be the perfect breakfast. The first bite of these treats takes me back to my childhood when I had newly started eating vegetables as a fussy kid and ate these while my grandmother enjoyed them with her tea at iftar.

Years later they still brings back old memories as we continue the tradition of making them all year round, especially in Ramazan.

Here's how you can make this simple yet flavourful dish for your iftar.

Ingredients

  • 1 to 1 and 1/2 cup carrots
  • 1 to 1 and 1/2 cup cabbage
  • 1/2 cup capsicum
  • 1/2 cup onion
  • 1/4th or 1/2 cup green onions
  • 1/4th cup ginger (optional)
  • 3 to 4 green chillies

All vegetables to be cut in thin long strips, julienne style.

The batter

  • 1/2 cup tempura mix
  • 1/2 cup corn flour
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • cold water to mix dry ingredients

Method

  • Add the vegetables in a bowl. Mix it well so when you add it to the frying pan you get equal amounts of vegetables in each fritter.
  • You can add more vegetables such as radish, mushrooms and eggplant.
  • Keep the mixed vegetables and the batter in separate bowls. This will allow you to increase or reduce the quantity when mixing the vegetables and batter together.
  • In a separate bowl add dry ingredients and an egg. Then add spices such as chilli flakes, salt, black pepper and white pepper (optional).
  • Start mixing it and slowly add cold water into the batter until it develops a medium consistency. Make sure it's not too thick or too runny.
  • Separate the vegetables in a bowl and add as much as you need at that time. Slowly pour in the batter, making sure that it sticks to the vegetable mix. Adding vegetables all at once will make the mixture watery, hence I suggest you mix it in in batches.
  • Use a tablespoon to scoop out the mixture and add it in a pre-heated wok with oil. Make sure to fry on medium-high heat until golden brown.
  • Once fried, take them out on a metal grill or serving dish for the oil to separate and then they are ready to be served. Avoid using kitchen towel or tissue to soak the oil as it makes the fritters soggy. However, you can lay the tissue on the serving dish to catch the oily residue.
  • Serve with teriyaki sauce or sweet chilli sauce and enjoy!

This story is part of a four-part series on recipes close to our hearts at Images