Pholourie (Split Peas Fritter) Recipe

What is pholourie?

Pholourie is a delicious, fried split peas fritter. It’s made with flour, split peas, herbs and spices, and either yeast or baking powder. The ingredients are mixed together to form a rich batter, and dollops of the batter are fried to a yellow-golden brown color. It is commonly served with a mango or tamarind chutney/sauce.

Can you make pholourie without yeast?

You can most certainly make pholourie without yeast. You do need a rising agent though, so baking powder would have to be used instead. The goal is to get a light, airy, spongey pholourie that rises to the top of the oil when fried.

What are the origins of Pholourie?

Pholourie is a popular street food in Trinidad and Guyana. Trinidadian pholourie and Guyanese pholourie are the same dish, but with different interpretations that may vary between the two cultures.

My Favorite Place to Buy Pholourie

Right now, my favorite place to buy pholourie is Trinciti Roti Shop in South Ozone Park, NY. The roti shop is quite a drive from where I stay, so whenever I visit them, I always order either doubles or pholourie with tamarind sauce for the road!

Tamarind Sauce Recipe

Tap on the description for the recipe and watch how to make it!

Pictured below: Chadon Beni, Saffron Powder, Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Yellow Split Peas Flour

Ingredients

(Makes approximately 12 pholourie)

-2 cups All Purpose Flour

-1/4 cup of Split Peas Flour

-1 tsp Salt

-1 tsp green seasoning

-2 tsp Rapid Rise Instant yeast

-1 tsp chopped Chadon Beni or Culantro

-1/2 Scotch Bonnet Pepper or Habanero, chopped, seeds removed

-1 tsp Saffron powder

-1 1/2 cups of warm water

– 4-5 cups of oil for frying (I used vegetable oil)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, split peas flour, salt, saffron powder, yeast, green seasoning, chopped chadon beni and pepper. Slowly add the warm water and use your hands to work the dough. As you gradually add the water, continue using your hands to stir the dough. When it’s ready, it should have the consistency of pancake batter you can stretch with your hands. Set aside and allow to rest for 1 hr. Grab a 3 quart pot (not a frying pan) and fill halfway with oil. Allow 5-7 minutes for the oil to heat.
Rub your hand with cooking oil and scoop up a handful of batter. Using your thumb & index finger, squeeze dollops of batter into the oil. You can use a medium sized cookie scoop to portion out the dollops of batter if using your hand seems too challenging. The dollops of pholourie will begin floating to the top. Fry for approximately 5-7 minutes on medium/high until they are golden brown in color. Drain on paper towel and serve with tamarind sauce! Enjoy!