Caribbean Pumpkin Fritters

This is what you could call a golden oldie. I love the bright yellow hue that the pancake mixture has when you mix all the ingredients together. And the smell of the warm pumpkin spices could have you licking from the bowl. Again I was left with the issue of what to do with the abandoned piece of pumpkin I had left over from the first dish I made. And soon realised that I hadn’t made anything sweet with any of the gourds I had bought. I wasn’t in the mood for a cake, I wanted something really quick but could still fit into the dessert category. And then I remembered pumpkin fritters, made effectively the same way that banana fritters are made and served with a hearty savoury main meal or on its own with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. The key to this recipe is the roasting on the pumpkin. It really doesn’t take any more than 30 minutes and in the meantime you can get all the other ingredients ready so that all you have to do once the pumpkin has cooked and cooled down is mix and fry. One way to avoid the heavy use of sugar in the dish, is to substitute the sugar with half a ripe banana, that way you get the sweet and creaminess of the banana as well as its health benefits.

Caribbean Pumpkin Fritters

  • Servings: 15-20 fritters
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients
500g pumpkin (Calabaza or Kabocha pumpkin)
120g flour ½ tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp grated nutmeg 2 tsp baking powder
1/2 very ripe banana mashed (optional)
1 tbsp brown sugar
vegetable oil for frying

cinnamon sugar for dusting (cinnamon and icing sugar)

Method

Cut the pumpkin into chunks (with skin on) and roast in a preheated oven on gas mark 9 until the pumpkin is soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.IMG_7367

Peel and mash the pumpkin and mix with all the other ingredients. Heat oil in a saucepan enough to cover the base on the pan by 1/2 inch, drop spoonfuls of the batter into the oil.
Turn the fritters over after 30 - 1 minute or until the fritters are golden brown. Blot with kitchen paper.
Dust with cinnamon sugar and serve