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Virgin Islands Cooking
Carol M. Bareuther

by Carol M. Bareuther

West Indian pumpkin, or calabash, varies from the North American Halloween variety. In shape, it is usually more oval then round and in color, has a greenish skin flecked with yellow or white blotches. The flesh inside is mildly sweet to taste and yellow to orange in color. When West Indian pumpkin is not available, use Hubbard or butternut squash in its place, when making the fritter recipe that follows.

Yield: 12 fritters
Nutrition: 115 calories, 6 grams fat, 3 milligrams cholesterol and 86 milligrams sodium per fritter.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups mashed pumpkin
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1¼ cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Oil, for deep fat frying

Method:
Combine pumpkin, sugar (instead of adding sugar in the batter, it may be sprinkled over hot fritters after cooking, as an option), salt, vanilla, baking powder, milk and flour in a mixing bowl until ingredients are just combined. Hand stir ingredients. Do not use an electric mixer and do not over mix. Drop by teaspoonfuls into hot oil and cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. As another option, fritters can also be cooked on a griddle, similar to a pancake. Serve fritters hot as a snack or side dish to a meal.

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