Baked Spicy potato fritters

All over the world the potato fritter or pancake is made with local ingredients and nuances that be-lie that population's ethnicity.  Pakoras, Jewish Latkes, Austrian Kartoffelpuffer all pay homage to the humble potato.  With 2 pounds of locally grown potatoes and pears from a neighbor's tree, I set to work on a baked version of this glorious dish which reflects the Goan elements of potato fritters.

Ingredients

2 pounds  potatoes, peeled and shredded
1 cup shredded peeled apples or pears (optional)
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
3 green or red hot chilies finely diced (or to taste, can substitute chilly powder)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon pepper
4 tbsp all purpose flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

These fritters can be shallow fried, but I chose to bake them because the fritters tend to absorb a lot of oil while shallow frying. 

If baking preheat the oven to 425 F.  Line a baking tray with foil and spray with cooking oil. 

Shred the potatoes and pear in the food processor.

Put  onion, garlic and chilly in a bowl and mix well with the eggs.

In a separate bowl add the remaining ingredients to the flour and mix.

Stir the flour into the potato mixture. Add more flour if there is too much liquid, so that a batter forms.

Put spoonfuls onto the baking tray, and flatten slightly.

Spray the fritters with cooking oil.  Bake for about 25 minutes till crisp and brown. About half way through remove from the oven, spray again with cooking oil and exchange racks if baking 2 trays at a time.