Hush Puppies
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 servings (about 20 hush puppies)
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- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 257
- Total Fat
- 11
- Saturated Fat
- 6
- Carbohydrates
- 34
- Dietary Fiber
- 2
- Sugar
- 3
- Protein
- 6
- Cholesterol
- 64
- Sodium
- 263
- Total: 50 min
- Active: 35 min
Ingredients
Tempering Oil (Tadka):
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds (see Cook's Note)
1 serrano pepper, minced
10 to 15 fresh curry leaves
Hush Puppies:
3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Frying oil, such as canola or vegetable
Handful chopped fresh cilantro
Handful fresh or thawed grated coconut
Directions
Special equipment:
a deep-fry thermometer or deep-fryer- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a triple layer of paper towels, then set a wire cooling rack over the top. Set aside.
- For the tempering oil: Warm the ghee in a small skillet or tadka pan over medium heat. Drop a couple of mustard seeds into the ghee; if they sizzle immediately, then it's hot enough. Add the remaining mustard seeds and the green chile. Cook about 5 seconds, then carefully add the curry leaves (they will splutter!). Cook about 30 seconds, then pour into a small bowl and set aside to cool down.
- For the hush puppies: Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and soda, turmeric and salt together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and lime zest together. Stir the wet ingredients and the now cooled-off tadka into the cornmeal mixture until just combined. Set aside to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill 10-inch cast-iron skillet with frying oil about 3/4-inch deep, or fill a deep-fryer. Preheat until it registers 375 degrees F.
- Drop little balls (about 1 tablespoon) of batter into the oil, being sure not to overcrowd the skillet. Fry, flipping often, until deep golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer the hush puppies to the prepared rack, then sprinkle with salt and lime juice and keep warm in oven.
- To serve, sprinkle with the cilantro and coconut.
Cook’s Note
Try not to substitute yellow mustard seeds for the black or brown ones. The latter have a signature warm nuttiness that the former don't. Curry leaves are available at Indian stores. I wouldn't bother with the dried ones, because I don't find that they have much flavor. If you can't find them, don't worry—the mustard seeds add plenty of flavor!