Burmese fritters ( my, အကြော်; ; known as ''a-kyaw'' in Burmese) are traditional fritters consisting of vegetables or seafood that have been battered and deep-fried. Assorted fritters are called ''a-kyaw-sone'' ( my, အကြော်စုံ). Burmese fritters are generally savory, and often use beans and pulses, similar to

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

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vada Vada or Vayda may refer to: People *Gunnar Vada (1927–2018), Norwegian politician *Vada Nobles, American record producer *Vada Pinson (1938–1995), American baseball player *Vada Sultenfuss, fictional character in the 1991 film ''My Girl'' * ...

''. The fritters are eaten mainly at breakfast or as a snack at teatime, served at tea shops and hawker stands alike. They are typically served as standalone snacks dipped in a sour-sweet

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

-based sauce, or as toppings for common Burmese dishes.

Gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

and onion fritters are cut into small parts and eaten with

mohinga Mohinga (, ; also spelt mont hin gar) is a rice noodle and fish soup from Myanmar and an essential part of Burmese cuisine, considered by many to be the national dish of Myanmar. Mohinga is readily available in most parts of the country, sold by ...

, Myanmar's national dish. These fritters are also eaten with ''kauk hnyin baung'' rice and with a Burmese green sauce called ''chin-saw-gar'' (ချဉ်စော်ကား) or ''a-chin-yay'' (အချဉ်ရည်). Depending on the fritter

hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

, the sauce is made from chili sauce diluted with vinegar, water,

cilantro Coriander (;

, finely diced tomatoes, garlic and onions.

Variations

Diced onions, chickpea, potatoes, a variety of leafy vegetables, brown bean paste, Burmese tofu,

chayote Chayote (''Sechium edule''), also known as mirliton and choko, is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. This fruit was first cultivated in Mesoamerica between southern Mexico and Honduras, with the most genetic diversity ...

, banana and crackling are other popular fritter ingredients. Typical Burmese fritters include: * ''Bazun khwet kyaw'' () - fritters made of

bean sprout Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

s and

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature ...

s, similar to Filipino

okoy ''Okoy'' or ''ukoy'', are Filipino crispy deep-fried fritters made with glutinous rice batter, unshelled small shrimp, and various vegetables, including calabaza, sweet potato, cassava, mung bean sprouts, scallions and julienned carrots, ...

* ''Kawpyan kyaw'' () - fried

popiah Popiah () is a Fujianese/ Teochew-style fresh spring roll filled with an assortment of fresh, dried, and cooked ingredients, eaten during the Qingming Festival and other celebratory occasions. ''The dish is'' made by the people and diaspora of ...

filled with vegetables such as jicama, carrots, and bean sprouts *''Mandalay pe kyaw'' () -

kidney bean The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There are d ...

fritters * ''Mat pe kyaw'' () or ''Mandalay baya kyaw'' (မန္တလေးဗယာကြော်) -

black gram ''Vigna mungo'', also known as black gram, urad bean, urid bean, mash kalai, uzhunnu parippu, ulundu paruppu, minapa pappu, uddu, or black matpe, is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative, the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the ...

fritters, similar to South Indian

medu vada Medu vada (; ) is a South Indian breakfast snack made from ''Vigna mungo'' (black lentil). It is usually made in a doughnut shape, with a crispy exterior and soft interior. A popular food item in South Indian cuisine it is generally eaten as a bre ...

*''Mont kat kyaw'' () - vegetable fritters battered in rice flour **''Bu thi kyaw'' () - slices of fried

bottle gourd Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

** ''Kyet thun kyaw'' () - fried

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with ''Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the d ...

s or

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

s, similar to

pakora Pakora () is a spiced fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are sold by street vendors and served in restaurants in South Asia and UK. It consists of items, often vegetables such as potatoes and onions, coated in seasoned gram ...

** ''Myinkhwa ywet kyaw'' () - fried bouquets of pennywort leaves *''Mont hsi kyaw'' () - fried pancake with

jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...

slices *'' Ngaphe kyaw'' () - deep-fried

fishcake A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...

s made from

bronze featherback The bronze featherback (''Notopterus notopterus''; as, কান্ধুলি ''kandhuli'', bn, ফলি, bn, কাংলা,, th, ปลาสลาด, ปลาฉลาด, ปลาตอง, Vietnamese: ''Cá thát lát'', my, င� ...

flesh * ''Ngapyaw kyaw'' () -

banana fritter A banana fritter is a fritter made by deep frying battered banana or Cooking banana, plantain in hot oil. It is a common dish across Cuisine of Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia and South India,Kerala. Varieties Brunei Banana fritters are a tradi ...

s, made only with overripe bananas with no added sugar or honey * ''Pe kyaw'' () - fried

split pea Split peas are an agricultural or culinary preparation consisting of the dried, peeled and split seeds of ''Pisum sativum'', the pea. Harvesting The peas are spherical when harvested, with an outer skin. The peas are dried and the dull-coloure ...

crackers that traditionally garnish

*''Pyaungbu kyaw'' () -

corn fritters Corn fritters are fried cakes of a dough or batter made of, or containing a featured quantity of maize (corn kernels, corn). Originating in Native American cuisine, they are a traditional sweet and savory snack in the cuisine of the Southern Unit ...

similar to Indonesian ''bakwang jagung'' *'' Samuza'' () - deep-fried potato dumplings * ''Tohu kyaw'' () - Burmese tofu fritters * ''Yangon baya kyaw'' () - yellow split pea fritters, similar to

falafel Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...

and

pholourie Pholourie (), also spelled ''phulourie'' or ''phoulourie'', is a snack food of Indo-Caribbean origin that is commonly eaten in Trinidad and Tobago as well as in Guyana, Suriname and other parts of the Caribbean. It consists of fried, spiced ...

* '' Yikyakway'' () - deep-fried Chinese crullers

Regional adaptations

Egg bhejo or egg bejo ( ta, முட்டை பேஜோ or ) is a common Indian street snack of Burmese origin, consisting of hardboiled eggs stuffed with fried onions, garlic, coriander, and chilis and seasoned with tamarind and lemon juice. The snack traditionally accompanies

khow suey ''Khow suey'' (from my, ခေါက်ဆွဲ), is a noodle soup made of egg noodles and curried beef or chicken with coconut milk, served with a variety of contrasting condiments. A squeeze of lemon also adds tanginess to ''khow suey''. ...

or atho, both of which are adaptations of Burmese noodle salad and

ohn no khao swè Ohn no khao swè (; ) is a Burmese dish consisting of wheat noodles in a curried chicken and coconut milk broth thickened with gram flour (chickpea flour). The dish is often garnished with crisp fried bean fritters, sliced raw onions, chilli ...

respectively. The term 'bhejo' is a corruption of Burmese 'pe kyaw' (), the fried split pea cracker that traditionally accompanies the aforementioned Burmese dishes.

Variations

Regional adaptations

References

See also