Venezuelan Party Fritters with Polenta and Fennel Seeds
Sweet, aniseed and soft, these party fritters are quite unique to say the least, and although you might think fennel seeds are too strong and overpowering in this recipe they work incredibly. Make these fritters sweet or savoury they are a fantastic universal party food options suitable for gluten free and vegans.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Harina Pan (Venezuelan White Corn Flour)
- 2 cups water
- 10 tbsp sugar (minimum)
- 3 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
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In a bowl mix all the ingredients until you get a soft but and firm dough
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In a pot warm up the oil at medium temperature or use a deep fat fryer
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Start to make the fritters. Take some dough and roll it in a bowl of the size of half of a golf ball
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Then roll it out between your hands to form a sausage shape (see video)
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Take both ends of the sausage and press them together to form a "tear" shape with a whole in the middle (see video)
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Fry each fritter at medium temperature until they turn golden brown, approx 8 to 10 minutes.
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Once golden brown remove from the oil and place them over kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
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Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes
- These fritters will be soft when you take them out of the oil, let them cool down for a minute or two so they become a bit crispy
- Because of the sugar the fritters are not super crispy
- These are best when served immediately when they have cooled down for a couple of minutes. Because they are made with polenta, they will become slightly chewy after a few hours.
- For a sweeter version add more sugar. For extra extra tbsp of sugar add 1.2 tsp of fennel seeds
- For a savoury version swap the sugar and fennel seeds for your savoury options. At the end of the post I'm adding some of my friend's favourite savoury combinations.