A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory varieties. Definition The 1854 edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster defines fritter as a transitive verb meaning "to cut meat into small pieces to be fried". Another definition from 1861 is given as "a pancake cont. chopped fruit, poultry, fish; also a small piece of meat fried". Varieties Africa West African countries have many variations similar to fritters. The most common process includes the blending of peeled black-eyed peas with peppers and spices to leave a thick texture. A Yoruba version, akara, is a popular street snack and side dish in Nigerian culture. South Africa Pumpkin fritters, served with cinnamon sugar at any time of day, are popular in South Africa. Asia South Asia Fritters are extremely popular roadside snacks all over South Asia and are commonly referred to as pakora (pakoda) or bhajji (bhajia) in local parlance—the onion bhaji also enjoys a high popularity abroad and at home. India In India, a pakora is a fritter of assorted vegetables and spices. In the South Indian state of Kerala, banana fritters are extremely popular. Peyaji is a Bengali dish of fritters with onions. Southeast Asia Brunei In Brunei, fritters are known as and they are eaten as snacks. is also part of local street food and usually sold in street market-style food booth (locally known as ). They are usually made with fillings which are commonly made with banana, shrimp, yam, sweet potatoes and vegetables (usually sliced cabbages or carrots). Some local fruits, when they are in season, are also made into , most commonly durian, breadfruit (), (Artocarpus integer) and (Artocarpus odoratissimus). Indonesia In Indonesia fritters come under the category of gorengan (, from goreng "to fry"), and many varieties are sold on travelling carts or by street vendors throughout Indonesia. Various kinds of ingredients are battered and deep-fried, such as bananas (pisang goreng), tempe mendoan, tahu goreng (fried tofu), oncom, sweet potato, cassava chunk, cassava tapai, cireng (tapioca fritters), bakwan (flour with chopped vegetables), Tahu isi (filled tofu), and breadfruit. These are often eaten accompanied by fresh bird's eye chili. The variety known as bakwan commonly contains flour with chopped vegetables such as