Vegetable Fritters

Based on a recipe from author Nancy Harmon Jenkins, this Cretan meze dish can be served hot or at room temperature. Get the recipe for Zucchini Fritters (Kolokitho Keftedes) »

The menu at the tiny, brightly colored Jesus é Goês restaurant is filled with Goan dishes that pop with traditional Indian spices and ingredients. Many take advantage of Lisbon’s fresh seafood—shrimp and fish in curries and biryanis—and produce. Here, in one of chef Jesus Lee Fernandes’ most popular starters, pillowy, onion-flecked chickpea fritters are served with a pungent chutney made from a blend of common Indian ingredients: cilantro, tamarind, chile, turmeric, and freshly grated coconut. Get the recipe for Chickpea Fritters with Coconut Chutney »

A staple of Mumbai street stalls, these aromatic fried potato-fritter sandwiches are slathered with coriander and tamarind chutneys and served on a buttered, toasted roll.

Cookbook author Madhur Jaffery describes these spidery-looking cabbage-and-peanut fritters as looking like little Medusa heads, “with the strands of shredded cabbage providing a crunchy, unruly halo.” A popular item in the mess halls of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, they can be served as part of a meal or as a crunchy snack.

Crisp, light-as-air fritters like these are a popular street snack throughout Senegal and the rest of west Africa. They’re usually accompanied by chile-hot, tomato-based kaani sauce (next recipe). See the recipe for Accara (Black-Eyed-Pea Fritters) »

Any way you make it, there is nothing like falafel’s first bite: the crisp-fried exterior giving way to a creamy center of seasoned mashed beans, garlic, and parsley.

Malanga Fritters While visiting Cuba, we learned how to make these unexpectedly delicate fritters from local cook Ofelia Farres. See the recipe for Malanga Fritters »