Battering

Why cold and lumpy

Mixing flour and water develops gluten, and gluten makes a batter elastic and chewy. In bread that is the point; in a fried coating it gives a tough, bready, slightly leathery crust.

Cold slows gluten development, which is why tempura batter is made with iced water and why some cooks keep the bowl over ice. Under-mixing does the same — a batter with visible lumps of dry flour has developed almost no gluten, and those lumps disperse in the fryer.

The second thing cold does is create a bigger temperature differential when the batter hits hot oil, so the water in it turns to steam violently and puffs the coating. That is what makes a batter light rather than dense.

The main batters

Beer batter

Flour, cold beer, sometimes a little baking powder. The carbonation adds bubbles and the alcohol evaporates fast, drying the crust. The British fish-and-chip standard.

Tempura

Plain flour and iced water, barely stirred, extremely lumpy, used immediately. The lightest and most delicate.

Sparkling water batter

Beer batter without the beer. Carbonation and cold with no flavour of its own.

Yeasted batter

Left to ferment briefly. More flavour, chewier, used for some fritters.

Simple flour-and-water

Fine for pakoras and onion bhajis where chickpea flour changes the character entirely.

Gram or rice flour

No gluten at all, so no risk of toughness. Crisper and more brittle.

Making and using one

1. Keep the liquid genuinely cold. Iced beer, iced sparkling water, or the bowl sitting in ice.
2. Sift the dry ingredients so they combine with less mixing.
3. Pour the liquid in and stir a few times only. Stop while there are still visible lumps of dry flour. This is correct.
4. Do not rest it. A frying batter is used immediately, unlike almost every other batter in the kitchen.
5. Dust the food in dry flour first so the batter has something to cling to, and shake off the excess.
6. Get the oil properly hot before the first piece goes in — a batter dropped into cool oil soaks rather than puffs.
7. Lower each piece in gently and let it set for a few seconds before releasing it, or it sinks and sticks.
8. Fry in small batches so the oil temperature holds, and drain on a rack rather than paper.

What goes wrong

• Batter slides off. The food was wet, or not floured first.
• Heavy and bready. Over-mixed, or the batter was warm, or it was rested.
• Soggy. Oil not hot enough, or too many pieces at once, or drained on paper.
• Pale. Oil too cool, or a batter with nothing in it to brown — a little sugar or milk helps.
• Uneven, thin patches. Batter too thin. It should coat the back of a spoon.
• Batter sticking to the base of the pan. The piece was dropped rather than lowered and released.
• Bubbles collapsing before frying. Made too far ahead. Mix it as the oil comes up to temperature.

Common questions