Shrimp and Onion Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea flour (also sold as gram flour or besan)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/23/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onions or shallots
• 2 tablespoons very finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 pound shrimp (67 ounces)
• peeled
• deveined
• and cut crossways into 1/3-inch pieces
• Oil for frying
• enough to have 3/41 inch in a frying pan

Instructions

1. Sift the chickpea flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
2. Very slowly add about 1/2 cup water to get a thick batter of droppable consistency.
3. Keep mixing to get rid of all lumps.
4. Add the black pepper, cayenne, and cumin.
5. Stir to mix well.
6. Now add the onion or shallots, cilantro, and shrimp.
7. Stir to mix.
8. Put the oil in a frying pan and set on medium heat.
9. Give it plenty of time to heat up.
10. Line a baking tray with paper towels.
11. When the oil is hot (a small piece of batter should sizzle if dropped in), pick up 1 heaping teaspoon of the batter and release it into the hot oil with the help of another teaspoon.
12. Quickly put in enough fritters to use up half the batter.
13. Stir and fry for 67 minutes or until the fritters are a reddish gold.
14. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread on the paper towels.
15. Make a second batch the same way as you made the first.
16. Serve hot.