South African Recipe for Durban Chili Bites

Name: Durban Chili Bites
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 150 gr chickpea flour; 15 ml cake flour; 1 medium-sized potato, coarsely grated; 1 medium-sized onion, grated; 10 ml coriander seeds, coarsely ground. 5 ml cumin, coarsely ground; 3 green chilies, finely pounded; 5 ml salt; 5 ml paprika; 5 ml baking powder; A handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped; 25 ml spring onions, diced; Oil for frying

November 16, 2020 | By Peg Kern

Filed Under

Recipes

To finish off our recipe week, we asked Chef Sidney for a recipe from his childhood in South Africa. He’s sent us a delectable treat, Durban Chili Bites, which he learned to make from his Zulu nanny when he was still a child. “Edith would run around like a mother hen when I decided to make them,” Chef Sidney recalls, “as she was so worried about the hot oil on the stove. However, she would allow me to do it all, and all through the process ensure I was made aware or the dangers of working with hot oil, something I still so vividly recall at times when I find myself without a deep fat fryer and having to use a pot.”

Browse all our cooking vacations.

Durban Chili Bites

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Cook method: Fry

Ingredients:

150 gr chickpea flour
15 ml cake flour
1 medium-sized potato, coarsely grated
1 medium-sized onion, grated
10 ml coriander seeds, coarsely ground
5 ml cumin, coarsely ground
3 green chilies, finely pounded
5 ml salt
5 ml paprika
5 ml baking powder
A handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
25 ml spring onions, diced
Oil for frying

Instructions:

Sift together the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, and mix in enough water to make a batter similar to the consistency of thick pancake batter.
In the meantime, heat some oil in a large frying pan. Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the oil, frying them, and turning them over when the fritters are golden brown.
Once both sides are golden brown, remove from the oil and drain on absorbent paper.
Serve hot.

You can learn to make this and more on a cooking vacation with The International Kitchen!

Try other South African recipes: putu pap (maize porridge), chakalaka sauce, and chicken galinha à africana.

Try making the chili bites this weekend and let us know what you think!

By Peg Kern

Find more photos, videos, food facts, and travel stories from The International Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sign up to receive our newsletter, which includes travel tips, recipes, promotions, and information on our best cooking vacations.