You are probably thinking to yourself “Baked Jalapeño Tapioca Pearl Fritters!? What on Earth is that? And why would anyone want to try it?”. Well, I can’t blame you for feeling that way. I would not have made these ever has it not been for a huge kitchen mistake. What I wanted to do was make a batch of Sabudana Khichdi, but my mind was on autopilot and instead of using cold water, I soaked the tapioca pearls in hot water. Unfortunately, this resulted in a pile of messy and sticky tapioca pearls, definitely not fit for Sabudana Khichdi.

It seemed such a waste to just dump everything out, so I threw in some roasted jalapeño peppers, roasted green chilis, coarse corn meal and some nutritional yeast, with a dash of oregano and garlic, and created little fritters. These went into the oven – no deep frying in my house – and came out fragrant, crunchy and delicious.

They had quite a bit of heat and punch, so I paired them with a yogurt sauce to take the edge off. If you prefer less heat in your food, dial back on the amount of jalapeños you use, or just use more yogurt sauce which has a gentle, soothing effect on the overheated taste buds. Enjoy with the side of a salad for a light meal, or serve as an appetizer with a punch.

Oven-fried Jalapeño Tapioca Pearl Fritters with Yogurt Sauce

What you’ll need:

2 cups tapioca pearls

4 cups hot water

3 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 can chilies

1 can jalapeño

1 tablespoon oregano

2 teaspoon garlic

1 cup coarse corn meal

1 cup almond or cashew yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

1. Start by soaking tapioca pearls in hot water for 2-3 hours. The pearls should absorb all the water and be very sticky.
2. Add all the rest of the ingredients except yogurt, cilantro and lime juice and mix everything well together.
3. Using your hands, form tapioca pearl balls that are about 2 in (4-5 cm) in diameter and arrange them on a baking sheet lined up with parchment paper. Spray the fritters with some cooking spray and place in the oven that has been preheated to 350 F (175 F). Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the fritters get that nice golden-brown look.
4. Let the fritters cool before serving, and while they are cooling whisk together the yogurt sauce by mixing yogurt, cilantro and lime juice together. Serve drizzelded over the fritters or as a dipping sauce.

Copyright ©Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2018