We all secretly have a huge love affair with deep fried savoury dishes. Furthermore, an Iftar party just isn’t incomplete without such bite sized savoury dishes. This Ramadan, I’m going to share with you a family favourite that is always prepared in massive batches and finished almost as soon as it is plated out!

This recipe has a Portuguese origin where Rissóis means small croquettes rolled in breadcrumbs that are deep fried. These savoury treats filled with a delicious prawn (Camarão) filling and prepared in a signature Portuguese Rissóis style is perfect as a starter or a side dish.

Recipe:

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For the filling-

• 10-12 medium sized prawns, de-viened and cleaned
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium chilly, crushed
• Garlic paste, 1 teaspoon
• Corriander, 2 tablespoon finely chopped
• Milk, 1 cup
• Corn starch, 1.5 tablespoon
• Olive oil, 2-3 tablespoon
• Salt, to taste

For the croquette-

• All purpose flour, 3 cups
• Water, 2 cups
• Salt, a pinch
• Butter, 1- 2 tablespoon
• Vinegar, 1 teaspoon
• Milk, 1 cup
• Bread crumbs, 2 cups

Method:

To prepare the filling, in a sauce pan, heat the olive oil and add in the chopped onions. Saute the onions until they turn translucent.

Chop the prawns as finely as possible. Add the prawns to the onions and allow it to cook on low heat, until excess water evaporates.

Stir in the chilly, garlic paste and salt and allow it to cook on low heat.

In a separate glass, mix the water and corn starch and add it to the prawn mixture. Make sure to continuously keep on stirring on low heat until the mixture thickens.

Sprinkle the coriander. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Now to make the croquette, in a saucepan boil the water. Once boiled, add the salt, butter and vinegar. Remove from heat and set aside for a minute. Add this to the flour in small parts and mix thoroughly to make a dough.

Knead the dough well and set aside in an air tight container.

Sprinkle some flour on the rolling board. Take some of the dough and roll in thinly on the board. Take a circle shaped cutter and cut out circular shapes from the dough.

Add 1 teaspoon of the prawn filling into the middle of the circular shaped dough. Fold the dough over to form a semi-circle. Press the edges of the dough together with your fingers. Repeat until all of the dough and filling is used up.

Dip the semi-circle croquettes into milk and then coat it with bread crumbs. Repeat this step to get a good crispy coating. Set aside.

The signature Portuguese Rissóis are ready to be deep fried until golden brown. Place them on paper towels to drain out any excess oil. Serve them while hot.

At home, we usually prepare the Rissóis (until step 10) and then freeze them. This way whenever we feel like having some over tea or as starters, we can simply defrost a few, fry them and enjoy!

Will you be trying out this recipe? I can bet it’s going to go down as a treat!

What is your all-time family favourite dish?