Crispy Sweet Potato & Coconut Fritters with Tangy Dipping Sauce

I've finally got around to cooking some of the recipes that we were taught at the cooking class at Spirit House in Yandina last year.  Last night I made these moorish little morsels.  Sunday night at our place is usually finger food with a nice cold beer or wine or Bundy Rum to help wash it all down.

For the fritters:

1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass

2 cloves garlic roughly chopped

1 tablespoon roughly chopped ginger

1 large red chilli chopped

1/2 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh turmeric or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

250 gms golden sweet potato

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup Rice flour

1 teaspoon white sugar

pinch salt

1.5 cups coconut cream 

2 cups vegetable oil for deep frying

To make the fritters:

Combine the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, red chilli and turmeric in a mortar and pound to a paste. (You must use a mortar and pestle.  A food processor will not form a paste)

Grate the sweet potato coarsely and squeeze out excess moisture.  Place in a bowl with the seasoning paste, flours, sugar and salt.  Add coconut cream and stir to combine.  It should resemble a very thick batter.  

Heat enough oil in a wok to deep fry the fritters.

Cook a generous teaspoonful of the batter, several at a time for 4-5 minutes

The fritters should be golden brown on the outside and moist inside.  Serve with the sauce in a separate bowl.

Dipping Sauce:

Place 2 cups sweet chilli sauce, the juice and finely grated zest of 4 limes, 3 teaspoons fish sauce and the white part of 1 spring onion very finely chopped, in a jar and shake to combine.  This sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.  Makes 2.5 cups.

 It has been so very hot here with no rain in sight.  We ended up with 500mm from ex tropical cyclone Ozwald so the country is looking fantastic with the grass leaping out of the ground.  But we do live in the tropics where our annual rainfall is more than 1500mm so we are still short.  We are praying that the rain comes soon, particularly to western Queensland where there has been little or no rain.