I first fell in love with split peas when I was in college. A lady from Guyana, South America would make and sell the most delicious curry chickpeas and roti.
The roti, a kind of Indian flatbread, had a thin layer of seasoned split peas in the middle. It was so delicious that they would be all gone shortly after setting up her meals. This experience started my love for split peas, my Instant Pot Split Pea Soup and stovetop version Split Peas Soup is a family and guests favorite.
What Is A Fritter?
The word batter originates from the French word, Friture which means ‘fried thing’. A fritter is made of a sweet or savory batter of fruit or vegetable but it can also be baked.
There are two types of fritters here in the United States, one that is made of a dough batter, like Corn Fritters and one that the fruit or vegetable is dipped in the batter and then fried like apple fritters.
This dish is similar to Pholourie (a traditional yellow split pea fritter popular in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. It is traditionally served with a tamarind sauce.
It is also similar to dishes served in Asian countries particularly India and Burma, most likely it originated from India and the dish has been modified by Indians who traveled to different parts of the world.
They would alter it based on the local ingredients available. This recipe is my own adapted variation, and should not be confused with any other versions of split pea fritters.
I pan fried mine instead of it being traditionally deep fried. I added spices that I love and the results were phenomenal. Check out my savory Broccoli Fritters and my sweet Banana Fritters recipes.
How To Make Fritters?
For this Yellow Split Peas recipe, the split peas are soaked overnight, drained and rinsed. They are then transferred to a food processor where they are processed into a smooth batter.
Finely chopped onions, garlic, cilantro, and spices. They are formed into discs and fried with a little oil. They are served with a delicious curry sauce.
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Categories
- Categories: Gluten-Free, Vegan
- Courses: Appetizer, Side Dish
- Cuisines: American, Asian, Indian
- Season: New Year's Eve
Nutrition
(Per 100g)- Energy: 52 kcal / 217 kJ
- Fat: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Carbs: 9 g
Cook Time
- Preparation: 20 min
- Cooking: 30 min
- Ready in: 50 min
- For: 12 fritters
Ingredients
Split Peas Fritters
- 1 cup yellow split peas, soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours
- 1 small onion, chopped finely
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped finely
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Curry Sauce
- Coconut oil for light frying
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, or 1/4 cup water
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1 tablesppon almond flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make curry sauce and set aside (recipe below). Drain and rinse split peas. Transfer to a food processor and process until it forms a paste.
- Transfer to a large bowl, add onion, garlic, cilantro, turmerc, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper a salt and stir to fully combine.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, divide batter and form into balls. Form fritters by flattening balls with the palm of hands. Cook fritters, about 4 at a time for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn fritters and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Repeat until batter is used up. I also love to cover the skillet for about 2 minutes midway during cooking to make sure the middle of fritters is fully cooked.
- Serve immediately with curry sauce, recipe Instructions below.
For The Curry Sauce
- Heat oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, ginger, tomato, turmeric, cumin, paprika, coriander and salt, cook stirring for another minute.
- Add almond flour and cook stirring for another minute.
- Add water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly. Pulverize in blender to desired consistency!
Notes
This is really fantastic! As a person with Indian heritage, the fritters taste just like mom used to make them—without having to find an Indian grocer to get the exact dal she would’ve used! Honestly I had no idea these were gonna be so easy to make, so thank you for opening my eyes. I didn’t make the curry sauce—just stirred tamarind paste into some Sambal Oelek and uggggggh! Crispy nostalgic heaven. I ate a half batch in one sitting.
Sasen, I’m feeling honored that my version tastes similar to your mom’s. Thank you for sharing your feedback. I love sambal and tamarind paste, so yummy!
Amazing! Made tonight and will certainly be making again and again. I added in 2 1/2 TAblespoons arrowroot powder because my mixture was to wet to form. Probably could’ve let the split peas drain and dry longer after rinsing. Thank you thank you
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Keoloha, love how you were able to make an adjustment for a wet batter.
Always looking for healthy alternative snacks for my 6 year old daughter. Will be making this fritters recipe in the morning for breakfast. I am from Trinidad and Tobago so I understand your love of curry. ❤️
Carla that is awesome, I hope you and your daughter enjoy it. Yes, Trinidad and Tobago curries are yummy!
My husband and I really enjoyed the fritters. We definitely add them to our menu. 👍👍
These were delicious and nice and crispy – I love a good fritter. The texture reminded me of fried bammy.
That’s awesome, I’m happy you enjoyed them. Oh yes, I never made the connection!
👍👍