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    Home » Recipes » Main Course

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta

    November 26, 2015 by Kankana Saxena

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Out of the ample varieties of deep-fried food that my Mom prepares, the red lentil fritters have always been my favorite, especially on a cold afternoon. She would fry the fritters right before lunch and serve with piping hot yellow lentil soup (dal) and steamed rice. We call these fritters Daler Bora and they are quite common in Bengali food culture. It can be prepared with different kinds of lentil but red lentils are most frequently used. This time, I gave my own little twist by serving these crispy lentil fritters in a non-traditional way with bright green garlicky chimichurri sauce on a bed of creamy polenta. Equally comforting on a cold afternoon.

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta | Playful Cooking

    I am sure most of you can relate to the fact that our Mom has a magical way to figure out measurements while cooking. They like using their hand as measuring cups. They like to eyeball most of the time. Thankfully these fritters don’t really need a lot of elements and hence it was easy to recreate it successfully, right on the first time. The key to making these perfectly crispy is by not grinding the lentil to a paste consistency. You want the mixture to be chunky. There are no extra binding components added. The batter/mixture should be thick and it holds the shape perfectly fine. Onion and green chili are also mixed in the batter for flavor but you can always go creative with it and add your choice of herbs and spices.

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta | Playful Cooking

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta | Playful Cooking

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta | Playful Cooking

    The creamy smooth polenta, the chunky bite of lentil fritters with the spicy vibrant chimichurri sauce, it’s quite a mouthful at every bite.

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta | Playful Cooking

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta

    Kankana Saxena
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 45 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr
    Servings 0

    Ingredients
     

    for lentil fritters

    • 1 cup red/brown lentil (you can use whatever kid of lentils you like)
    • water to soak the lentil
    • 1 medium red onion (roughly chopped)
    • 2 green chili (roughly chopped)
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • salt

    for chimichurri sauce

    • 1 cup fresh cilantro
    • ½ cup fresh mint leaves
    • 2 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
    • 1 jalapeno (roughly chopped)
    • zest of 1 lemon
    • juice of half lemon
    • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • salt
    • pepper

    for polenta

    • 1 cup polenta
    • 1 tbs butter
    • ½ cup milk/cream
    • 4 cups water or broth (I used 2 cups water and 2 cups chicken broth)
    • ½ cup parmesan cheese
    • salt

    Instructions
     

    • Soak the lentils over night in water. Next morning, strain the soaked lentils and save few spoons of the water. Put it in a grinder along with onion, chili and cumin seeds. Pulse it several times so it blends but doesn’t get too pasty. The batter should be chunky.
    • Heat enough oil for deep-frying these fritters.
    • Sprinkle some salt on the batter and give a mix. To make the fritters, you could either use your hand, a spoon or an ice cream scoop to drop in the hot oil. Once golden brown in color, drain it to a paper towel.
    • To prepare the chimichurri sauce, add all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until it all combines together to a smooth consistency. Pour it in a big bowl.
    • To prepare the polenta, whisk the polenta in the cold broth/water and bring it to boil. Sprinkle salt and continue cooking in medium heat, stirring constantly until it’s smooth and cooked through. Finally add butter, milk/cream and Parmesan cheese. Give a whisk and serve warm with fried lentil fritters and chimichurri sauce.

    Notes

    Typically no binding components are required to form the fritters, but if it's falling apart, add a little bit of all purpose flour to the batter.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serves 2

    Lentil Fritters With Chimichurri And Polenta | Playful Cooking

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. dolphia nandi

      December 24, 2015 at 6:50 pm

      all bengalis can relate to daler bora - and that reminds me, i need to make it soon...

    2. Rakhee@boxofspice

      November 30, 2015 at 12:32 pm

      What a gorgeous combination Kankana! I love the idea of the lentil fritters. Ooh they look so incredibly yummy. You got me all hungry here now! 🙂

    3. cheri

      November 27, 2015 at 2:08 pm

      Hi Kankana, really like the way you cook, this looks delicious!

    4. Karine Keldany

      November 27, 2015 at 10:56 am

      Theses fritters sound delicious. I have to try them. Thanks for sharing Kankana.

    5. dixya @ food, pleasu

      November 27, 2015 at 5:09 am

      I have never seen anything like this before...the idea of fritters is sooo delicious!

    6. angiesrecipes

      November 27, 2015 at 12:15 am

      It looks absolutely mouthwatering!

    7. Rosa

      November 26, 2015 at 8:53 am

      A fabulous meal! So original and mouthwatering.

      Cheers,

      Rosa

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