Fritters make a really good light meal, ideal for warmer months or when you just want something easy for dinner and my vegan Cajun kumara fritters are just that. Easy and relatively quick to make, while also filling and of course delicious.
I actually first made these when my oven broke and I was hosting a dinner. Not a good time. Everything I made needed to be stove top, and ideally easy and quick to make so I could make multiple different dishes. I was also wanting minimal mess and clean up due to having a lot of people at my house. And I’m happy to say that these fritters only use a pot, one bowl and a frying pan.
The other good thing about these vegan Cajun kumara fritters is they’re fine eaten cold, although I do prefer them hot, cold is not a problem, which means you could also make them in advance.
My first time making these I didn’t write anything down, I sort of just made it up as I went and hoped for the best, not really planning on turning these into one of my recipes. But they came out really good, full of flavour and nice and caramelised due to the sweetness of the kumara/sweet potato. So I decided it would be rude to keep the recipe all for myself.
What goes in these vegan cajun kumara fritters?
Well, as the name suggests, kumara, or sweet potato depending on where you live, and cajun spices. I’ve also added some spring onion for additional flavour, sweetness and texture, and some flour to bind it all together.
I used orange kumara for a few reasons. I personally like the flavour of orange kumara the most, it’s the sweetest variety and because of that you get more caramelisation on the fritters than you would if using one of the other colours. It also takes a little bit less time to cook than other varieties. But you can use other varieties if you prefer.
I didn’t have “cajun spice” so I added my own spices to make something similar, these included paprika, dried oregano and thyme, onion powder and cayenne. Cayenne can be quite so be careful with how much you use. I recommend around ⅛ – ¼ tsp, but you can always add more if you like your food hot, or less if you are really not a fan of anything remotely spicy.
Can these be made gluten free?
Yes! It doesn’t matter which type of flour you use in this recipe as the flour is simply there to bind. I used wholemeal, but plain flour works the same. The first time I made these I used gluten-free flour as I was catering to both vegans and coeliacs and there was no difference. So definitely make them using gluten-free if you need to!
How do I make vegan cajun kumara fritters?
You will first need to peel the kumara/sweet potato, and then cut them into even sized pieces. The size of the kumara pieces doesn’t matter too much as long as they’re similar so they cook evenly.
Once the kumara is cut, bring a pot of water to the boil then cook the kumara for about 10 minutes until soft. Drain and put the kumara/sweet potato into a large mixing bowl, then mash with a potato masher before adding the spices, herbs, spring onion and flour, then mix well.
Now it’s time to turn the mixture into fritters. Put a good non-stick pan on the stove top on a medium heat with a lug of oil (I like to use olive oil but you can use any cooking oil). Once the pan is hot, scoop out a large spoonful of the kumara fritter mix (about the size of a dessert spoon) and put into the pan, press down lightly with a fork or spoon to flatten slightly. Add more spoonfuls of kumara fritter mix to the pan until the pan has as many fritters as is will fit, but make sure you leave a bit of space for flipping (for me this was around 7). Cook on each side for about 3 minutes.
What kitchen tools will I need?
If you’re after some other light meal or easy dinner or lunch recipes have a go at my Beetroot and Carrot Fritters, or Vegan Rice Paper Rolls.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Peel the kumara/sweet potato and chop into even sized pieces
-
Bring a large pot of water to the boil then add the kumara. Cook for about 10mins until soft. Drain.
-
While the kumara is cooking, finely slice the spring onion (both white and green parts), setting aside approx 5cm of the white part to use for garnish later.
-
Put the cooked kumara pieces into a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Add the remaining ingredients - spices, herbs, flour and sliced spring onion, then season with salt and pepper and stir well until combined.
-
Heat a pan to medium with about 1tbsp oil. Once hot, add big spoonfuls of the kumara mixture to the pan, press each one down lightly with a spoon or fork to flatten slightly. Cook for approximately 3 mins, then flip and cook for another 3 mins on the other side.
-
For the spring onion garnish, thinly slice the white part of the onion you put aside lengthways so you have long strips. Put into a bowl of ice cold water for about 3-5mins until they start to curl up.
-
Top the fritters with the spring onion garnish and serve with a simple green salad.
Notes
If you end up with more than 500g of kumara/sweet potato, add a bit more flour to the fritter mixture.
Leave a Reply