No-fry VEGAN Indian-style Pumpkin Blossom Fritters

VEGAN Indian-style Pumpkin Blossom Fritters:

Yes, these are my version of no-fry vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters. Made with a wild rice plus herbs batter, these no-fry vegan pumpkin blossom fritters are truly something you would love to relish again and again.

Story and History of Vegan Indian-style Pumpkin Blossom Fritters:

The recipe of these vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters comes from my mom’s kitchen. It’s an everyday ingredient and we in Orissa(a state in India) love to eat pumpkin and squash blossoms every other day. In our food culture, we eat pumpkins, its leaves, flower and even stalks. And then when the fruit matures, we collect the seeds, clean them and dry roast before eating the kernels. In short, we love eating everything in a pumpkin plant except the roots.

My mom, who always loves to grow pumpkin in her kitchen garden, picks the fully blossomed pumpkin flowers or squash flowers in the morning. Then she carefully washes, removes the unwanted parts and dips in a flavorful rice and chickpea batter before frying them until crispy. Now that I too have a small kitchen garden in my backyard, I love making these awesome vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters often.

However, my version of the vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters is not fried. I chose to cook it on a greased griddle. Then, I lightly drizzle them with a few drops of oil and cook it until crispy. These fritters can be baked in the oven too. If you choose to bake, ensure not to make the batter very runny.

Now comes the batter, which is certainly flavorful with the fragrant hints of cumin seeds, spice from the Thai pepper and the pungent garlic, all wonderfully blended in the wild rice batter which is well-known for its earthy rice-like flavor. The crispiness of the vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters come from the wild rice batter. You can use white or brown rice for this recipe too. Alternatively, you can use chickpea flour and rice flour too. I have tried all the versions, and what I loved the most is the batter made from soaked rice not the quickly made flour batter.

How to make the Vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters?

Soak the Wild Rice:

• Soak the two to three tablespoons of wild rice in a cup of water.
• I took two tablespoons of rice for six pumpkin blossoms.
• Wash the rice well before soaking.

• Soak it at least for half an hour to two hours.

Make the Batter:

• Take the soaked rice in a blender and discard the soaked water.
• Add one or two pods of garlic, one Thai green pepper and ¼ teaspoon of cumin seeds.
• Add salt and blend well to make a smooth puree.
• Add turmeric and mix well.
• The batter for our vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters is ready.

Prepare the Pumpkin Blossoms:

• Wash and pat dry the Pumpkin blossoms.

• Cut the stem and the discard the sepals and the stigma(the yellow thin cylindrical parts).

• I cut open the blossoms as pictured, but you can use the whole flowers too.

Make the Fritters:

• Heat a griddle and add a few drops of oil.
• You can use a skillet too. I strongly suggest using a non-stick one.

• Dip the blossoms in the batter and cook them on the greased griddle or tawa.
• Flip it as the bottom starts to become crisp and flatten the fritters by pressing gently with your spatula.

• Spray with some oil and cook it further for five more minutes.

• Each fritter should take no less than 10-15 minutes to cook fully under low temperature.
• Because we are using very minimal oil, cooking under low flame is the key.
• In that way, it will be fully cooked, brown and super crispy.

• Serve vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters with chutney, dressing or as a side with cauliflower rice and lentils.

Nutrition Facts:

Squash flowers or blossoms are very low in calorie. A cup of pumpkin/squash blossoms are 5 calories with 1 g carb and 1 g protein. However, these flowers are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Those who love clean eating and want something tasty and yum should not shy away from eating these vegan Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters.

And some other Indian sides from the blog.Click on the images to visit the Recipe page.

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