Chef Corbin Tomaszeski Feeds The Kids – Crispy Vegetable Fritters with Cilantro, Ginger, Coconut Chutney

As part of this weeks’ Feeding Toronto’s Hungry Students, Chef Corbin Tomaszeski shared the following recipe to raise awareness and funds to fight student hunger.  Read more on that here 

Chef Corbin’s Recipe – Crispy Vegetable Fritters with Cilantro, Ginger and Coconut Chutney

“It is always tough to get kids to enjoy eating vegetables but with this recipe it’s easy. It’s as though these veggies have been given a makeover. They aren’t just stuffed in a spring roll or pureed in a soup. These Crispy Vegetable Fritters are easy to make and are  great way to give kids fuel for the day.” – Chef Corbin

Ingredients for Fritter Mix

• 2 cups chana or chick pea flour
• ½ tbsp. grated fresh ginger root
• 1 garlic clove – minced fine
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• ¼ cup julienne raw carrot
• ¼ red pepper – julienne
• ½ cup julienne onion
• ¼ tbsp. ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ – ¾ cup cold water

Method

Combine all ingredients except the water in a small mixing bowl.
Add the cold water to bind the vegetables with the flour- a thick paste will form. Be careful not to over mix.
Pre-heat canola oil in a heavy bottom cast iron skillet – enough to fill skillet to 2 inches.
Heat the oil to 350˚F.
Drop large fork fills of the battered vegetables (approx. 2 inches in diameter) into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, crispy and cooked through, approximately 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, drain on absorbent paper and season with sea salt. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce or coconut ginger chutney. (recipe below)

Ingredients for Coconut Ginger Chutney

• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 ½ tbsp. grated ginger root
• ½ cup grated unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 birds eye chili
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar

Method

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Note: I have not tested this recipe

This recipe provided as part of the the City of Toronto’s 8^th annual Feeding Toronto’s Hungry Students Week (October 1-5, 2012). If you try this recipe, please consider making a donation to The Angel Foundation for Learning, a 25-year-old registered Canadian charity that’s dedicated to supporting the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s most vulnerable students.   Or to your favourite local hunger charity, they all feed a lot of kids!

All photos provided by The Angel Foundation for Learning