Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Kalamarakia Tiganita (Καλαμαράκια Τηγανητά)
Aegean island fried squid is flour, hot oil, lemon, and nerve. Fry it for a minute or two, no longer, and it stays tender under its crisp coat.
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Cycladic Kolokithakia Tiganita (Κολοκυθάκια Τηγανητά)
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Cycladic kolokithakia tiganita are thin summer courgette rounds, salted, floured, and fried lacy-crisp, with tzatziki cold beside them and aubergine fries on the plate.
Appetizers & Snacks
Greek
Outdoor Dining
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings as a meze
Cycladic kolokithakia tiganita are the summer frying pan at its simplest: young courgettes sliced thin, salted, floured, and sent into hot oil until the edges turn crisp and pale gold. On the islands they come to the table as meze, usually with tzatziki, lemon, and often a few aubergine fries sharing the plate.
The slicing and salting are the whole matter. Thick courgettes soften before they crisp. Unsalted ones carry too much water, so the coating turns heavy and the pan gives you limp rounds instead of lacy ones. Slice them thin, let the salt do its work, dry them well, and the flour clings as a veil, not a coat.
This is not a complicated dish, but it is an honest one. Good oil, small firm courgettes, and patience with the batches. My grandmother Despina would have called that Λίγα και καλά, a few things, and good ones.
Kolokithakia tiganita belong to the summer meze table across mainland and island Greece, with the Cycladic version kept especially plain: courgette, salt, flour, and hot oil. Courgettes entered Greek kitchens after New World squashes spread through Europe by Venetian and Ottoman routes, then settled into household summer cooking. By the twentieth century, thin fried courgettes beside tzatziki had become one of the steady dishes of island tavernas and home kitchens.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small firm courgettes (kolokithakia)
Quantity
600g
sliced into 2mm rounds
aubergine
Quantity
300g
sliced into slim fries
fine sea salt
Quantity
12g
plus more to finish
plain flour
Quantity
160g
fine semolina
Quantity
30g
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
olive oil or light olive oil
Quantity
350ml
for frying
lemon
Quantity
1
cut into wedges
tzatziki
Quantity
250g
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small firm courgettes (kolokithakia)sliced into 2mm rounds | 600g |
| auberginesliced into slim fries | 300g |
| fine sea saltplus more to finish | 12g |
| plain flour | 160g |
| fine semolina | 30g |
| dried Greek oregano | 1/2 teaspoon |
| black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon |
| olive oil or light olive oilfor frying | 350ml |
| lemoncut into wedges | 1 |
| tzatzikito serve | 250g |
Equipment Needed
- •mandoline or very sharp vegetable slicer
- •wide heavy frying pan, 28cm
- •wire rack set over a tray
- •kitchen thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Salt the vegetables
Spread the courgette rounds and aubergine fries on a tray. Sprinkle with the salt and leave for 20 minutes, until beads of water show on the surface. This is the step that decides the dish: salt pulls out enough water that the slices fry crisp instead of steaming under their flour.
- 2
Dry them well
Pat the vegetables very dry with a clean towel. Be firm with them, especially the aubergine. Damp slices make paste in the flour and spit in the pan, and nobody needs drama from a courgette.
- 3
Mix the flour
Stir the flour, semolina, oregano, and pepper in a shallow dish. The semolina is not fancy. It gives the thin coating a little tooth, the crisp edge you want under your teeth.
- 4
Dredge in batches
Toss a handful of vegetables in the flour mixture, shake off the extra, and set them on a tray. Don't flour the whole batch too early, or the salt left on the vegetables will dampen the coating.
- 5
Heat the oil
Heat 2cm of oil in a wide heavy pan to 175C, or until a pinch of flour sizzles at once without darkening. Keep the heat lively but not angry. If the oil cools, the courgettes drink it.
- 6
Fry until crisp
Fry the courgettes in loose batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until pale gold and crisp at the edges. Fry the aubergine after them for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender inside and golden outside. Lift each batch to a rack or paper-lined tray and salt while hot.
- 7
Serve at once
Pile the fried courgettes and aubergine generously on a platter. Serve with lemon wedges and cold tzatziki. Eat them now, while the edges still crackle and the yogurt is cool against the hot oil.
Chef Tips
- •Choose small courgettes no thicker than a thumb and a half. Big watery ones belong in a stew or a pie, not here.
- •Fry in batches with space between the slices. Crowding drops the oil temperature, and then you're boiling vegetables in oil instead of frying them.
- •Serve kolokithakia tiganita straight from the pan. They don't keep their crispness long, so set the tzatziki, lemon, bread, and plates out before you fry.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the courgettes and aubergine up to 2 hours ahead, but salt and flour them only shortly before frying.
- •Make or buy the tzatziki a day ahead and keep it chilled; it should be cold against the hot vegetables.
- •Mix the flour, semolina, oregano, and pepper earlier in the day and keep it dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 270g)
Calories
490 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
29 g
Cholesterol
10 mg
Sodium
1200 mg
Total Carbohydrates
33 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
8 g
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