plantain, taro root and carrot fritters, spiced tamarind soy

Makes approx. 8 medium-sized fritters

1. Medium-large very ripe plantain
2. 1 Medium-large carrot
3. 2 medium or 3 small taro root pieces
4. 3-4 tbsp all-purpose flour
5. 1 tsp stock powder
6. 1 tsp curry powder
7. 1 tsp brown sugar
8. 1 tsp Tropical Sun's tropical seasoning 
9. Salt (pinch/to taste)
10. Vegetable oil (for frying)
11. Dried or fresh herbs of your choice (to garnish)

For enough sauce to fill a small dip bowl/small teacup

1. 2 tsp soy sauce
2. 1/2 tsp liquid tamarind paste
3. 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
4. Juice of 1/4 of a small lime 
5. 1 bird's eye chilli finely chopped
6. 2-3 cloves of garlic minced or finely chopped
7. 1 tsp suya spice (yaji)
8. Water to dilute to taste

1. Mash the plantain in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Separately finely grate the carrot. Use a cheesecloth (or washed Aesop bag ;) to drain. Don't discard the carrot juice! Pop in the fridge to enjoy mixed with Orange juice Yum. Add grated carrot to mashed plantain.
3. Separately, using gloves, peel and finely grate the taro root. It will be very sticky! Again drain as much liquid as possible using a cheesecloth.
4. Combine all ingredients thoroughly with the seasonings listed. Don't forget the flour.
5. Heat oil in a large frying pan (pan should be around 1/3 full). Use a tablespoon or spatula to form fritter mix into patties (not too thin but not so thick/big that they won't cook evenly - think burgers/crabcakes).
6. Fry over a medium heat for around 6-8 minutes, flipping to brown evenly.
7. Best served hot off the pass (after you've made sure that they are cooked through - see tips). 
8. Garnish with dried or fresh herbs - pictured is dried coriander.

Very ripe plantain means just that - there should be big patches of black skin. This is a great way to use up overripe plantain.

Tamarind has a lovely sour tang - you may wish to add more or less depending on how much you like this flavour. Same goes for chilli. You can always start with a little less and build up.

If you're unfamiliar with yaji/suya spice, it's a wonderful smoky spice blend that should be a pantry staple. Contains ground peanuts! You can find it at any Afro-Caribbean grocers.

Taro's subtly sweet and nutty flavour works well in this, you'll find it at Asian grocery stores. But if you really can't get hold of it, or already have potato or sweet potato, you could use those instead (finely grated!).

Wear gloves when dealing with raw taro, it can irritate the skin.

Do drain as much liquid as you possibly can from the carrot and taro to make sure the mix isn't too wet. Add a tad more flour if you need to, the mix shouldn't drop immediately from an upside-down spoon. 

Even though this is a plant-based dish, I like to imagine I'm frying chicken - you don't want the exterior to brown/burn too quickly whilst the inside is not cooked, so make sure your oil is not too hot and you fry for long enough. If your oil is too cold, they'll be too oily. Best to test one fritter first. The taro especially needs to be cooked through, it cannot be eaten raw.

You'll know when the taro is cooked because you won't see any strings of  white flesh inside the fritter, when cooked it will become translucent, so you'll only see yellow and orange hues from the carrot and plantain.

If you find a fritter is fully browned but not cooked through, continue cooking in the oven.