Ingredients
- 4 green Thai bird’s eye chillies, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 300g shredded or grated pumpkin (from about 600g unpeeled) – I prefer the texture of shredded, but do whatever suits you best
- 2 tbsp glutinous (sticky) rice flour
- 6 tbsp rice flour
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the ajad (quick pickle)
- 100ml vinegar
- 100g superfine caster sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1–2 mild green chillies, thinly sliced
- 1 small handful coriander leaves, to garnish
Preparation
- For the pickle, heat the vinegar, sugar and two tablespoons of water in a small pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the salt, then take off the heat and leave to cool.
- Add the chillies to the cooled mixture just before serving (they will go soggy otherwise), then garnish with coriander.
- For the fritters, lightly crush the chillies, garlic, salt and sugar in a mortar. Scrape into a bowl with the pumpkin and stir gently to combine.
- Add both the rice flours, then stir in enough water to make a batter with a soft, dropping consistency.
- Heat the oil in a wok until it’s hot (if you’re using a deep-fryer, set it to 180C/350F). Form the mixture into loose patties (use about a heaped tablespoon per fritter) and fry in batches until crisp and golden – about three minutes – then transfer to kitchen paper to drain
- Serve hot with the pickle.
