Makes roughly 22

Ingredients

1 recipe quantity of Coriander Dipping Vinegar (recipe below)
90g gram flour
1 large aubergine, cut into batons roughly the size of a chunky chip
Plenty of neutral cooking oil, for deep frying
Runny honey, for drizzling
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
Flaky salt

For the Coriander Dipping Vinegar:

Makes enough for 5 people

6 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons runny honey
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
A good pinch of salt
A big handful of coriander, leaves and stems finely chopped

Method

Make the dipping vinegar according to the method (see below). Leave it to sit while you make the fritters.

Put the gram flour and a good pinch of salt in a large bowl and trickle in about 130ml of water, beating continuously with a balloon whisk as you do. Keep going until you get a mixture slightly thicker than crêpe batter.

Dip the aubergines in the batter, making sure they’re well coated.

Pour your frying oil into a deep pan over a low–medium heat, or into a deep-fat fryer. Don’t fill the pan or fryer more than half the way up.

Put something like a nugget of bread or potato in the pan. When it rises to the surface and is bubbling and clearly frying, the oil is hot enough.

Fry the fritters in batches, using tongs to carefully lower the aubergines into the oil. Be cautious when you do this as the oil may bubble up.

Cook the aubergines until they’re really well browned (about 3 minutes). You want the aubergines to be super-soft and the batter crispy. Then remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon, transferring them to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Drizzle a little honey over the fritters from a height, sprinkle them with flaky salt and nigella seeds, and serve them alongside the dipping vinegar.

For the Coriander Dipping Vinegar:

Beat the vinegar, honey, chilli flakes and salt together with a fork. Stir through the coriander and leave to sit for a few minutes before serving.

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