Fritter

A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory varieties.

The 1854 edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster defines fritter as a transitive verb meaning "to cut meat into small pieces to be fried". Another definition from 1861 is given as "a pancake cont. chopped fruit, poultry, fish; also a small piece of meat fried".

West African countries have many variations similar to fritters. The most common process includes the blending of peeled black-eyed peas with peppers and spices to leave a thick texture. A Yoruba version, akara, is a popular street snack and side dish in Nigerian culture. Another popular fritter made by Nigerians is 'puff-puff', typically made by deep-frying a dough containing flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, eggs and water.

Falafel, or taʿmiya (Arabic: طعمية, romanized: ṭaʿmiyya) is an example of a fritter widely eaten in Egypt as well as other countries in North Africa. In Egypt, it is made from crushed fava beans which are mixed with various herbs and spices and then deep-fried.

Pumpkin fritters (commonly known as pampoenkoekies), usually served with cinnamon sugar and served at any time of day, are popular in South Africa. Variations often include banana instead of pumpkin.

Fritters are commonly referred to as bhajia or viazi karai, and are a popular street snack in Kenya.

Fritters are common roadside snacks all over South Asia and are commonly referred to as pakora (pakoda) or bhaji (bhajia) in local parlance. The onion bhaji is especially well-known.

In India and Pakistan, a pakora is a fritter of assorted vegetables and spices.