Fritters

Description
Fritters are bite-sized pieces of fruit, vegetable, meat or cheese coated in a seasoned flour batter and deep-fried. Fritters and similar foods have been popular all over the world for centuries: think of Apple Fritters in England, Frittelle di Ricotta in Italy; Onion Rings in the United States, Pakoras in India, and Tempura in Japan. Fritters are a popular snack food all over Africa, perhaps most popular in Western Africa, where they are often made with bananas, maize, or pineapple. For European-American style dinners, fritters make a good side dish or dessert.

Ingredients

 * Batter:
 * two cups all-purpose flour, sifted
 * one teaspoon baking powder
 * salt and pepper, to taste -- or -- one teaspoon sugar or brown sugar (use salt and pepper for vegetable fritters; use sugar for fruit fritters)
 * two eggs, beaten
 * one cup milk or water
 * two tablespoons cooking oil


 * Main Ingredient (two cups of any one of the following):
 * corn (maize); (fresh, off the cob; or canned, drained)
 * okra, cleaned and sliced
 * bananas, peeled and sliced
 * pineapple, sliced or cut into chunks (fresh; or canned, drained)
 * cooked, mashed pumpkin
 * cooked, mashed sweet potato
 * any other fruit or vegetable


 * oil for deep frying

Directions
Dip the ingredient into the batter. Carefully transfer to the oil.
 * 1) Prepare batter by mixing all ingredients in a bowl. Add a bit more liquid if necessary. Batter should be thick enough to cling to a spoon without dripping.
 * 2) Pour oil into deep skillet or pot, to a depth of one to two inches. Heat oil to 375°F (190°C).
 * 3) If using small ingredients like corn, or okra slices, or banana slices:
 * 4) Stir the ingredient into the batter. Carefully spoon the batter into the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning a few times.
 * 5) If using large ingredients like pineapple slices:
 * 1) Fry until golden brown, turning a few times.