[4] 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".

The most common process includes the blending of peeled black-eyed peas with peppers and spices to leave a thick texture.

Typically made by deep frying a dough containing flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, eggs and water.

[9] 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.

In Malaysia, it is common for a type of fritter called "cucur"[11] (such as yam, sweet potato and banana[12]) to be fried by the roadside[12] in a large wok and sold as snacks.

Diced onions, chickpea, potatoes, a variety of leafy vegetables, brown bean paste, Burmese tofu, chayote, banana and crackling are other popular fritter ingredients.

Black beans are made into a paste with curry leaves to make bayagyaw[13]—small fritters similar to falafel.

Gourd, chickpea and onion fritters are cut into small parts and eaten with Mohinga, Myanmar's national dish.

In Japanese cuisine, takoyaki is a type of ball-shaped fritter made with a wheat batter, minced octopus, ginger and tempura scraps.

[14] Tempura is vegetable or seafood dipped and fried in a light crispy batter and served as a common accompaniment to meals.

Bugak are made from vegetables such as dasima, perilla leaves, and chili peppers, which are coated with glutinous rice paste and dried thoroughly.

[17] Its preparation involves coating green beans, bell peppers, squash, or other vegetables in a wheat flour batter and deep frying them.

[24] An apple fritter recipe typically includes a batter made from flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and a bit of oil.