Recipe - Sallys Party Fritters

1 Aubergine (eggplant/brinjal)
whatever you call them in
your country
Mozzarella cheese, cut or sliced up
thinly
Fresh or dried basil and
parley for seasoning
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Olive oil and butter
Oil for deep frying

BATTER
125 g Flour
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Olive oil
200 ml Beer
2 Egg whites

TOMATO AND GARLIC SAUCE
1 cn Chopped tomatoes (pureed in
a food processor or
liquidiser)
3 Cloves garlic
Olive oil
Sugar

To prepare the fritters : Slice the brinjals thinly (lengthwise) and place
on a plate, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave to stand (degorge) for
about 20 minutes to let all the bitter juices run out. Wash well and then
fry in olive oil and butter and sprinkle with a few fresh/dried herbs and
pepper. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside.

Thinly slice the cheese and make sandwiches with two slices of brinjal
placing the slice of cheese in the middle. Dip quickly into the batter and
dry in hot oil for about 2 minutes each side. Serve as soon as possible
dipping into a good tomato and garlic sauce. (see recipe below)

To make the batter : Sift the flour into a bowl and season with salt and
pepper. Make a well in the centre and add the oil. Gradually mix in the
beer until all the flour is incorporated (or simply make the batter in a
food processor quicker and easier in my opinion.

Let the batter to stand for about one hour to rest, otherwise it will
shrink away from the food you are trying to fry and provide an uneven
coating..

Then whisk the egg whites until stiff and carely fold into the beer mixture
until you have a wonderful puffy mixture. It is now ready for the brinjal
"sandwich".

(This is suitable for any fritters and is a wonderfully light batter to
coat shrimps and prawns / mushrooms / blanched cauliflower / bananas/
apples etc NOTE : when cooking fruit lightly dust the prepared fruit
with icing sugar before dipping into the batter and then coat with cinnamon
sugar when you have finished frying and draining.

TIP : if you remove about 3 tablespoons of flour and replace with cornflour
you will get a lovely light crispy batter.

Tomato and Garlic Sauce: Crush the garlic and cook gently in the oil. Then
add the pureed tomatoes and sweeten with a little sugar to taste. Place is
a serving dish and use as a dipping sauce for the fritters.

Sally Paterson, Durban, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.

Posted to Recipe Archive 16 Feb 97 by ted by: sallyp@dbn.lia.net on Feb
16, 9.