Pumpkin Flower Fritters

I have been wanting to make fritters from flowers...I have seen people making zucchini fritters and when I googled and found that pumpkin flowers can be make into fritters too , I was jumping with joy.  In the course of excitement and in my hurry to harvest the newly blooms, I forgotten that I should check the gender of the flowers.  I am no gynecologist okay.  Plucked them off and happily heads toward the kitchen.  I removed petals by petals and soaked them in water to remove dust and dirt.  No pesticide as it is homegrown , thus I soaked them for just 5 mins.  After I removed the petals, I noticed that I have plucked the female flowers......grrrr I should have hand-pollinated the female flower so that I get the pumpkin and eat only the male flowers. 

Anyway, to cut the story short, I use d the batter recipe shared by Pharma's Kitchen.  It turned out fabulous...the fritters turned out crunchy and stay crunchy for quite a while. His batter recipe is the best thus far.  Simply loves it and I will use his batter recipe again. Do hop over to his blog for more delicious dishes. 

I used Rice Bran Oil for frying the fritters as it is healthier and Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice after chaff (rice husk). It is notable for its high smoke point of 232 °C (450 °F) and its mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and deep frying. It is popular as a cooking oil in several Asian countries

I will be planting more kabocha for its flowers now that I know it tasted so good

soak for just 5 mins to remove dust and soil from the petals

dry the petals on two layers of paper towel before coating 

with the batter

I wish the kabocha has more blooms

the best snack ever !

this is so good that I am dreaming of a bed 

of kabocha with lots of flowers in my little patch

Pumpkin Flower Fritters

a few Kabocha flowers-  keep the petals only

batter ( adapted from Pharma's Kitchen )

5 tablespoons of Rice Flour

2 tablespoons of Glutinous Rice Flour

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder

Salt

Pepper

Smoked Paprika Powder * I use chilli flakes

1/4 can of Beer or water if not using beer

Rice Bran Oil  -  2" of oil in a small deep- pan

Method:

Soak the kabocha flower petals in water for 5 mins.  Drain off water and lay the petals in between two layers of kitchen paper towels for 5 mins or until water is absorbed into the paper towel.

Mix the dry ingredients for batter till well combined.  Slowly add in the beer or water till you get the right consistency ( not too thick nor too watery - as long as the batter can stick onto the petals and not drain off )

Heat rice bran oil , use a wooden chopstick to test whether the oil is ready for deep frying. When you see bubbles around the chopstick end, it is ready.

Gently coat the petals and drop in gently into the hot oil, one at a time.  The moment it turned golden brown, scoop out and drain on paper towels to take off excess oil.

Enjoy !