Name: Red lentil fritters with green yoghurt
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6

Red lentil fritters with green yoghurt

These red lentil fritters may be on the diminutive side, but they punch well above their weight in the flavour stakes.

Serves 6

Prep

25M

Cook

25M

Total

50M

These little morsels may be on the diminutive side, but they punch well above their weight in the flavour stakes. If you wanted to make them gluten-free, you could substitute the flour with teff flour.

Ingredients

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

½ onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp coarsely crushed coriander seeds

2 tsp coarsely crushed cumin seeds

200 gm red lentils (1 cup)

2 eggs, separated

100 gm self-raising flour

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon, plus lemon halves to serve

Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying

Green yoghurt

½ cup (firmly packed) coriander

1/3 cup (firmly packed) flat-leaf parsley

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 long green chilli, coarsely chopped

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground cardamom

70 ml olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

250 gm thick plain yoghurt

Method

1.Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic and sauté until tender (4-5 minutes). Stir in spices and fry until fragrant (30 seconds), then add lentils and 650ml water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until lentils are tender and liquid is absorbed (8-10 minutes). Transfer to a bowl to cool.

2.Meanwhile, for green yoghurt, process herbs, garlic, chilli, spices and 2 tbsp cold water in a small blender to coarsely chop, add olive oil and lemon juice and process to a fine purée. Transfer to a bowl, season to taste, swirl in yoghurt and set aside.

3.Stir egg yolks into lentils, then stir in flour and lemon rind and season generously to taste. Whisk eggwhites and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl to firm peaks and fold into lentil mixture.

4.Preheat oven to 180C and heat 3cm oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add heaped tablespoonfuls of lentil mixture in batches and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown (2-3 minutes). Drain on paper towels and keep warm in oven while you cook remaining fritters. Serve hot with green yoghurt and lemon halves.