"Too good to be true" Pumpkin fritters

Gluten-free pumpkin and coconut fritters
with homemade fig preserve.
Photo by Matilda Angus

Trying to follow a gluten-free diet is not easy. Mainly because we are so used to having staples like bread and pasta, and not to mention snacks like cookies, rusks and muffins! As any serious dieter will tell you, the secret to sticking to the regime is to avoid feeling deprived.

The fact that problems with blood sugar levels and colon are a thing of the past, makes up for a lot of what have to be sacrificed, but yet, by now I know the look in George's face that says "I will swim the mighty Apies river for a brownie or a slice of lemon meringue pie."

We are lucky. The gluten-free revolution have brought along huge advances and variety in products that are easy to use, if rather expensive. For a special treat (or an emergency), I keep a packet of gluten-free cake flour in the pantry.

Today I tried my hand at pumpkin fritters which is a very traditional South African comfort food. I omitted sugar and added a secret ingredient that makes it the perfect side dish to a vegetable curry: Coconut!

Ingredients (makes about 20 fritters):
1,5 cups cooked pumpkin puree (I used butternut)
2,5 ml gluten-free baking powder
50 g gluten-free cake flour
50 g desiccated coconut
2 eggs
60 ml milk or rice milk
25 g butter, melted

Method:
1. Combine the flour, baking powder and coconut in a bowl.
2. Mix together the eggs, milk and butter in another bowl.
3. Add the egg mixture to the flower mixture and stir well until smooth.
4. Add the pumpkin puree and mix in well.
5. Heat a frying pan to medium heat, add a drop of oil, drop dessertspoonfuls of the mixture onto the hot pan.
6. Cook for a minute or two until the underside starts turning brown, then flip the fritters and cook the other side as well.
(I find that even though I use a non-stick pan, a drop of oil with each batch of fritters is necessary to prevent it from burning before it is cooked through. The fritters remain moist on the inside.)

Serving ideas:

• Serve it as a side dish, sprinkled with cinnamon, with a vegetable curry and basmati rice.
• Serve it as dessert with preserved figs, sprinkled with more coconut and a dollop of cream.

Matilda