Monday, September 9, 2013

Kohlrabi and Sweet Potato Fritters

Have you ever had Kohlrabi?   It's this weird vegetable that kinda looks a little like a turnip with leaves.    The name comes from the German, Kohl being cabbage and rabi means turnip.  Doesn't taste like either one though.  

I was very fortunate to grow up on a farm, we raised our own pigs, cattle, chickens and even had sheep and a goat at one point.    We also grew vegetables and soft fruits.

As a young person I was not that fond of vegetables.  I loved the fresh corn, I'd generally manage to polish off an ear or two on my way up to the house after picking some for dinner.   I would eat as many peas as I shelled when we were having fresh peas for dinner, but never cared for them cooked.

Wait a minute, I think I see a pattern emerging.   I liked raw cauliflower, raw cabbage, raw carrots and raw peas, but not cooked.  However, when it was time to harvest Kohlrabi, I was happy to eat that raw or cooked.   Mom never really did anything fancy with the Kohlrabi, basically it was steamed and served with a little butter.  Simple and oh, so very good.   You really didn't need more seasoning than that.  

Now that I've gotten the story telling out of the way -

I got so excited when I found some Kohlrabi at a little oriental store I go to when I visit the big city.   They have the most incredible variety of fun vegetables there.  I usually pick up some baby bok choy, as well as chinese eggplants and other fun stuff.    But this time after grabbing my essentials, I found some Kohlrabi.  So I bought it.

I thought one of the bulbs would go nicely with a sweet potato and some besan flour  and some of the new spice mixtures I picked up at another store.   And since I was going to go to a gathering yesterday, I used my friends as guinea pigs.    I decided to play with this and see how it turned out.   Of course if they hadn't passed my taste test, I was just going to share it here and  and not say a word about it.  I used the recipe for Carrot Pakora's I made a while ago as a base for these.

Recipe:  Kohlrabi and Sweet Potato Fritters
1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 Kohlrabi, peeled and grated
1  cup Besan Flour  (Chickpea Flour)
1 cup Rice Flour
1 sweet onion, finely diced
1 Jalapeno, finely diced
3 teaspoons cumin/coriander powder mix  to taste,
(I just purchased this at the Indian store).
1/2 teaspoon salt
Water to moisten, I used about 3/4 cup
Oil for frying 




Peel the Kohlrabi, making sure you get all that woody outer peel off.

 You can see in the picture that under the peel is a layer of white peel, you don't really want that either.  Not for this recipe.   Grate it and set aside.  Peel and grate the sweet potato, then mince the onion and jalapeno.

Dump all the veggies into a bowl and add the flours and spices.  Mix together and then add water.

 I used a half cup water but it was still a little dry, so I added about another 1/4 cup, which was almost too much.   But it worked.  Heat the oil to about 350 degrees, you can do a shallow fry with these fritters, which is what I did.  Or you can use a Fry Daddy if you like, whatever floats your boat.

Place a tablespoon of the fritter mix into the oil and fry til golden on one side, then turn and fry til golden on the other side.

 Remove from oil and drain.

Serve warm with some Chutney sauce.  

And I did say I was at a gathering with some friends, which in my neck of the woods equates to lots of yummy dishes.
I tried Gefilte Fish yesterday, served with Horseradish.  Very interesting.


There was some Ham, and I took a picture before the mustard and mayonnaise was put into the bowls.


 There was also some yummy Asparagus, with a touch of balsamic vinegar and caramelized onions.
You gotta have some Cheese and Crackers along the way as well.   And I did not get a shot of the yummy burrito's either, grrr.   I managed to eat one, but... 


All in all, another successful gathering. 

Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sid,

    Your delicious recipe has been nominated as one of the "Top 100 Best Potato Fritters Recipes on the Internet". You can view it and vote for it here: http://potato-recipes.org/best-potato-recipes/best-potato-fritters-recipes-internet/ (position #38).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the nomination. But I have to say, a lot of those recipes look really good and have given me some more ideas.
      Thanks again. And I did share this one FB as well.

      Delete

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