By blog team member, Kiran. To learn more about Kiran, check out our team page!
As you may recall from some of our previous posts, “pulse” is an international term for legumes such as lentils, beans, dry peas, and chickpeas. These are all nutritional powerhouses that are easy and cheap to grow, and they’re also real food of course!
So, since the UN declared 2016 as the International Year of the Pulse, we’ve been partnering with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada to help create awareness and encourage people to incorporate more pulses into their everyday diets. This could help with many food-related issues around the world, so it’s truly a win-win for everyone!
But, rather than just telling you to eat more pulses, we thought we’d show you how to do just that with a series of easy and tasty recipes.
The first three were: Indian-themed Spinach Chana Dal, Shrimp and Lettuce Wraps, and (a family favorite) Breakfast Cookies made with Chickpea Flour. And today you’ll find Yellow Split-Pea Fritters below.
I also encourage you to find out more about pulses and their value worldwide by clicking here and then taking the pledge to incorporate more pulses into your diet.
Personally, this topic hits very close to home. During my trip to visit family in India last year, I saw many different forms of pulses – more than I ever realized were available – while perusing the street bazaars.
In fact, most every meal I ate there included at least one pulse. In addition, I recently learned what an economically important crop this is for farmers in my father’s home country. We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – you vote with your dollars, and it’s important to know the facts before you buy.
So on the topic of India, I have another Indian-themed recipe for you to try. This is kind of similar to falafel but utilizes yellow split peas, which are rich in dietary fiber and protein. I like them because they are a plant-based protein source, bite-sized, and also fairly inexpensive (and easy!) to make. Oh, and did I mention that they are pretty yummy, too? :)
I like to serve these with a chutney or yogurt sauce, or you could even throw them in a wrap, nestled in with some fresh vegetables. They could also make a unique topping for a salad. No matter how you eat them, you can’t go wrong!
Yellow Split Pea Fritters
Similar to falafel, these split pea fritters are a plant-based protein source, bite-sized, and also fairly inexpensive (and easy!) to make.
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow split peas, soaked 4+ hours
- 1 onion, medium, chopped
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- avocado oil, or olive oil, for shallow frying
Instructions
- Soak yellow split peas for a minimum of 4 hours. Drain and rinse.
-
Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined.
- Heat 1 – 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet. Scoop a spoonful of mixture into your hand and form into a loose ball. Add to pan and flatten with a spatula. Be careful not to overcrowd.
- Cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes, flip and repeat until cooked on the other side.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Let me know if you try this or any of our other recipes from this pulses series.
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My kids and I didn’t enjoy these. They had a bit of a *bitter* flavor (perhaps due to the uncooked beans?). I soaked for around 8 hours. Too bad, they were quick and easy.
Thank you for this recipe! I added some shredded cheddar cheese to mix before cooking them. They were delicious and I used them as a meat substitute on top of spaghetti.
Just checking; that the peas are not cooked?
That’s correct, just soak them first. – Nicole
Love, love this recipe. I make it all the time now. I eat them for breakfast with a couple of fried eggs.
I wonder if green split peas would work similarly or any other pulse or bean?
And They are excellent with homemade tsatziki.
While we have not tried that, some of our readers have successfully made them with green split peas! – Nicole
Had to add an egg and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to bind it. Also needs very little oil to cook, wouldn’t fry these. Also had to add waaaay more spices to flavor it.
I don’t use oil, has anyone pan-fried these oven-baked them with success? Tia
I was going to ask the same thing. I don’t see why you couldn’t line a baking sheet and bake them instead of frying them. I’ll give it a try tonight and let you know
How did you go? Did it work? :)
I love this recipe,it is easy, healthy and delicious. I added few hot peppers and served them with homemade tahini sauce.p
This recipe is easy, quick, costs pennies to make, and produces DELICIOUS fritters. It made enough for two people to have two meals of them. We topped them with mango chutney and unsweetened cashew yogurt that I mixed with grated cucumber, cumin and a little salt (I won’t call it raita but it’s inspired by that). So good! Thank you for a great recipe that I will use again and again.
I would think you can still make them. maybe chopping things really fine as if you were doing a chopped salad and adding some sort of biding agent such as egg or some flour. Texture might be different but might still work. Good luck!
I was thinking of mixing with cornmeal……and spices other than listed…. experiment a bit as we’ve never had yellow split peas. It will take a lot of convincing to get my family to try something different so I need to go with known likes.
I’m thinking of a sort of Southern hush puppy like thing…. wish me luck!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am the food coordinator at our church’s food pantry. In an effort to expose our precious families to new and nutritious foods, I have started fixing things to have a sample for them when they come to get their groceries. This looks like a fantastic treat and could be the answer to end the refusal of the delicious and underestimated split pea.
All of the ingredients are simple and can be found in our pantry. We will be using dry cilantro since it might be hard to come by for our pantry.
Looking forward to trying these!!
Has anyone tried baking these instead of frying for a lower fat version? Curious for feedback. Thanks
What if you don’t have a food processor can I still make them
How many fritters per person is this recipe talking about?
I would think a few per person. But sometimes you just can’t stop at that many since they are so good! – Nicole
I can’t stop eating these… I only had a 1/2 of an onion so I added green onions and celery … Delicious ! …. I plan on making tiny bite ones as an appetizer for my next family gathering
Fantastic! So glad that you enjoyed them!!
Hi, can you make these with green split peas or do you think it would change the texture or taste?
Haha! Glad to hear you like them so much. – Nicole