Lentil fritters with warm pineapple salsa
Packed with spicy flavour, these lentil fritters are easy to make, and served with a bright, sweet and sour warm pineapple salsa.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 5cm/2in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2x 400g tins green or brown lentils, rinsed and well drained
- 2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled
- 1½ tsp garam masala
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú creamed coconut, grated
- small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
- ½ lemon, juice and zest
- 1 free-range egg
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- vegetable oil, for frying
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the warm pineapple salsa
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- ½ small fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and finely diced
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- lemon juice, to taste
- salt
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat, add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Add the onions, garlic, Scotch bonnet and ginger to the pan and fry for 5 minutes until softened.
Add the drained lentils, stock cubes, garam masala and creamed coconut and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until the mixture is really dry. Stir through the coriander and lemon juice and leave to cool slightly.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor, add the egg and flour, pulse a few times to combine, season to taste and then leave to cool.
Lightly dampen your hands. Form the lentil mixture into eight equal patties, place on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate until well set.
To make the warm pineapple salsa, put the sugar in a frying pan and cook over a medium–high heat until caramelised. (CAUTION: boiling sugar is extremely hot. Handle very carefully). Carefully add the pineapple and cook for 2–3 minutes until the pineapple has slightly softened and the caramel has dissolved. Add the vinegar and soy sauce and cook for another 2 minutes until combined. Remove from the heat and season with lemon juice and salt to taste.
Pour 1cm/½in of vegetable oil into a frying pan over a medium–high heat. Carefully lower the lentil patties into the oil and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until browned and crisped.
Serve the patties hot, with some lemon zest grated over and the warm pineapple salsa on the side.