Iranian herb fritters with barberry dipping sauce

Makes 12 fritters

These Iranian herb fritters, first published in Simple, have been a favourite ever since. This version comes with a barberry dipping sauce that adds sharp, sweet, and salty contrast. The recipe includes a few tweaks to the original - moving the barberries from the fritters to the sauce where they shine better, and adding nigella seeds and spring onions for depth. Panko breadcrumbs replace fresh breadcrumbs, and they rehydrate perfectly in the batter.

Make things easy for yourself by pulsing the herbs, onions, and nuts in a food processor. The sauce itself is quick to make and works beyond these fritters - try it drizzled over roast lamb or mixed into salad dressings.

Ingredients

BARBERRY DIPPING SAUCE
25g	barberries (soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, then strained)
90g	demerara sugar
1 tbsp	soy sauce
35ml	lime juice (from 2 limes)
1	small mild red chilli, sliced into thin rounds
	fine sea salt
FRITTERS
120g	fresh herbs, leaves and tender stalks, finely chopped (dill, basil, coriander, mint or parsley)
90g	spring onions, finely chopped
1 ½ tsp	ground cumin
1 tbsp	nigella seeds
50g	panko breadcrumbs
25g	walnut halves, roughly chopped
8	large eggs, beaten
60ml	oil (sunflower or olive)
	fine sea salt

Method

For the barberry sauce, add the barberries, sugar, soy sauce, 150 millilitres of water and ½ teaspoon of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated to a maple syrup-like consistency, just coating the barberries. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice and chilli, then transfer to a small serving bowl and set aside.
For the fritters, place all the ingredients, apart from the oil, in a large bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix well to combine and set aside.
Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large non-stick pan and place on medium-high heat. Once hot, add ladles of batter to the pan. Do 4 fritters at a time, if you can – you want each of them to be about 9cm wide – otherwise, just do 2 or 3 at a time. Fry for 1–2 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden brown. Transfer to a kitchen paper-lined plate and set aside while you continue with the remaining batter and oil.
Serve either warm or at room temperature with the barberry sauce on the side.