Guyana Pholourie (Split Pea Fritter)

Guyana Pholourie Pronounced pho-lo-ree is a delicious treat made from split pea.   This is a clear Indian influence in the Guyanese cuisine.  They are spicy and have the flavors of India with curry and other seasonings.   They are best eaten right out of the fryer and awesome dipped in Mango Sour a  Mango chutney.  A perfect beginning to our Guyanese meal as these are a very popular street food there.  Often times you will see them perfectly round, a unique way to drop the dough into the pan using your hand.  I was chicken to try it and used a small ice cream scoop.  They came out great,  just not perfectly round.

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3.25 from 12 votes

Guyana Pholourie (Split Pea Fritter)

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Guyana

Prep Time 12 hours hours

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 12 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 16 pholourie

Author International Cuisine

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry split peas
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 2 wiri wiri pepper or 1/2 red scotch bonnet or habanero
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup flour
• Oil for frying

Instructions

• In a bowl soak dry split peas with about 1 1/2 cups of water. Leave this overnight. By morning the peas will double in size.
• The next morning, drain the water from the peas. In a blender or food processor put peas, garlic and pepper or pepper sauce, and enough water to cover the peas and blend on high till smooth.
• Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Now add all of the dry spices and mix till they are incorporated. Add baking powder, yeast, and flour. Mix thoroughly.
• Cover the batter and let it sit for 1-2 hours.
• Heat oil in frying pan, I would say enough oil that comes half way up your pan.
• Dropping the batter into the oil: This is tricky, you can do this with two spoons, but your pholourie balls will not come out as round as they should be. The authentic way is to grab some batter in your hand and turn your fist upside down so that the batter falls through your thumb and pointer finger. When you drop the batter into the oil, it should immediately pop up, if it doesn't then your oil is not hot enough. Obviously you need to be extremely careful to not splatter your hand as you drop in the dough.
• Turn the pholourie balls while they are frying so that they can evenly brown.
• Continue this process until all your batter is used up.
• Serve hot with mango sour.