Burmese Yellow Split Pea Fritters
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If yellow split peas aren’t something you use very often, get ready for a fabulous way to enjoy them! Known as Baya Kyaw, these Burmese yellow split pea fritters are crispy, mildly spicy (or not so mildly), and packed with flavor! They’re also naturally gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.
Most commonly referred to as Burma, the nation’s official name is the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by India, Thailand, Bangladesh, China and Laos. Burma’s cultural influences are as varied as their nation’s different ethnic groups and their cuisine covers the range of seafood, meat, poultry rice, noodles, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, beans and a variety of fermented foods.
These Burmese split yellow pea fritters incorporate the traditional flavors of Burma and are so tasty, I’m confident you’re going to love them as much as I do! Another bonus is that they can be prepared far in advance, in fact I recommend it because the flavors will only improve. Make the fritter batter and refrigerate it as is, or form them into patties and refrigerate them until you’re ready to fry them.
Serving Suggestions
These Burmese split pea fritters can be served as appetizers or as a light main course with your favorite dipping sauce like my homemade Sweet Chili Sauce. Just pair it with a salad or some steamed or grilled veggies for a complete meal.
I also like to think of these as “Burmese falafel”. Just like Middle Eastern Falafel, these split pea patties can be served on pita bread with veggies and my homemade Tahini or my refreshing Preserved Lemon Cilantro Yogurt Sauce.
Burmese Yellow Split Pea Fritters Recipe
Let’s get started!
Rinse and soak the yellow split peas overnight. Be sure to thoroughly drain and pat them dry or the fritter mixture will be too wet.
Place the split peas and all remaining ingredients in a food processor.
Pulse the ingredients to form a semi-smooth and gritty paste.
Form the mixture into patties (they will very moist). Cover and refrigerate the patties for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the patties on both sides until golden brown.
Serve with your choice of dipping sauce like my homemade Sweet Chili Sauce.
Enjoy!
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Burmese Yellow Split Pea Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried yellow split peas , rinsed and soaked overnight and throughly drained and patted dry
- 1 medium yellow onions , chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 red chili pepper , chopped (remove seeds if you prefer it not spicy)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger root
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor. Make sure the peas have been thoroughly drained otherwise the mixture will be too wet. Pulse the ingredients to form a semi-smooth and gritty paste. Do not over-process.Form the mixture into patties (they will very moist). Cover and refrigerate the patties for at least 3 hours but preferably or overnight to give the flavors time to develop.
- Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the patties on both sides until golden brown.Serve with your choice of dipping sauce like our Sweet Chili Sauce or use as a Burmese-style falafel with pita bread, veggies, tahini, and yogurt sauce.This makes about 16 two-inch patties.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 19, 2016
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
These look delicious! I’ve recently decided to become vegetarian (again)- I’d love to see even more vegetarian dishes on your great blog ;0)
YUMMY! I love this! It is so different but it sounds delicious too!
I’ve never seen anything like these but I’ll bet they’re amazing. I love the crispy outer crust and the look and color of the creamy inside. Perfect for a meatless main course. I’ll need to try these!
These look so tasty — perfect for a snack or light lunch!
Oh man, all those flavors! This looks and sounds SO darn good!
These pea fritters look so good! I love learning how to do new things, and they are so cute, my kids will love them!
What a great idea – we love fritters!
I can’t even tell you how much I LOVE These!! They are so pretty!
I have never been a huge fan of peas, but split pea soup is soooo good, so I know I would love these fritters! Such a fun recipe!
I love your photos! I would go crazy for these fritters. Split peas are my favorite!
I love all of the culture that goes along with this dish, and it looks so wonderfully flavorful, yet simple. Pinned it!
I love the flavors and textures in this recipe! What a fantastic way to use an under-used ingredient like the yellow split pea. Yum!
I visited Burma once long time ago, and ate this. The taste almost like Indonesian corn fritter. Thx for sharing this recipe Kim! great post!
Perfect timing! I just bought a bag of yellow split peas the other week!
What a fabulous and easy idea. Great for appetizers too. In my culture we do something like this but with black beans and it is heavenly. I must try this recipe soon =)