Cookbook:Deep Fried Chickpea Dough with Lemon (Panissa)

| Cuisine of Gibraltar

Panissa is a sort of Gibraltarian set pudding made with cooked chickpea flour. There is also an original Italian one, though what is referred to as panissa in Italy nowadays is more akin to the Gibraltarian calentita. According to the original contributor, their grandmother always used to make panissa on the same day she made Minestra as a light second course.

Ingredients

 * 500 g chickpea flour
 * 2 litres water
 * Olive oil for frying
 * Salt
 * Lemon juice
 * Minced parsley (optional)

Procedure

 * 1) Stir the chickpea flour into the 2 litres of lightly salted water over a moderate flame.
 * 2) Stir the mixture steadily in the same direction with a wooden spoon until you obtain a soft, lump-free paste.
 * 3) When the paste begins to pull away from the sides of the pot, turn it out into oiled wooden moulds, or spread it out about ¼ inch (½ cm) high on your work surface. Alternatively, pour the mixture into saucers. Make sure to dust the surface with parsley beforehand if you're including it.
 * 4) Let the mixture cool and set.
 * 5) If you didn't use molds, cut the cooled mixture into 1 x 3-inch (3 x 7 cm) rectangles or into wedges.
 * 6) Fry the pieces in hot oil.