🧆 Pakora

 Pakora

Pakora is a savory, deep-fried Indian snack made with chunks of vegetables such as potato, cauliflower and eggplant, or meat of choice, which is then dipped in chickpea flour, seasoned with turmeric, salt, chili, or other spices, and deep-fried in ghee.

It is a quintessential Indian snack, easily found on numerous street corners and most popular during spring, when the locals choose to celebrate the monsoon season by eating fried foods.

Chaat and chat anyone? Head for the nearest street vendor selling these snack-size mini-meals and socialize!

Ingredients 

2 1/4 cups chickpea flour 

▢1 tsp turmeric powder

▢1 tsp cumin powder

▢1 tsp coriander powder

▢1 tsp fenugreek powder (Note 2)

▢1/2 tsp chilli powder (pure chilli powder, Note 3)

▢2 tsp salt (cooking/kosher salt)

▢3/4 cups + 2 1/2 tbsp water

▢1 1/2 cups onions , grated using standard box grater (~1 1/2 onions)

▢2 cups potato (~1 large), peeled and grated using standard box grater (Note 4)

▢2 1/2 cups cauliflower (~1/4 large head), finely chopped into rice size pieces (or grate)

▢2 large red chillies (cayenne peppers), finely chopped (adjust spiciness to taste, or leave them out)

▢1 tbsp fresh ginger , finely grated

▢2 tbsp coriander/cilantro leaves , finely chopped

How to make pakora

Vegetables for pakoras are typically either finely chopped, grated or julienned so they are suitable to form into little patties and cook quickly. I always ensure that there’s at least one vegetable grated or julienned so you get scraggly bits that stick out and become extra crispy!

Here’s how I prepared the fresh vegetables in these pakoras:

Ginger: Finely minced using a microplane (best for maximum flavour extraction!)

Cauliflower: Finely chopped into rice size pieces, as though preparing to make Cauliflower Rice (which, actually, is a good tip if you want to just buy ready-made – simply use raw cauliflower rice). You can also grate it using a standard box grater. Use a large bowl so the cauliflower bits don’t go everywhere. Otherwise use a food processor!

Potato: Grated using a box grater; and

Onion: Grated using a box grater. Yes, the onion juice squirting out will be torture and will make you cry (unless, like me, you’re protected with contact lenses). But it’s worth it, I promise!

PAKORA BATTER AND FRYING

Pakoras are deep fried so you get the signature scraggly sticking out bits that become extra crunchy. However you can cook them like pan-fried fritters (like Zucchini Fritters, Corn Fritters etc) if you prefer not to deep fry. Of course, they won’t be quite the same but they’re still delicious!

Batter: 

Make the batter by mixing together the chickpea flour and dried spices with water. At this stage, the batter will seem very thick and paste-like but don’t worry. It actually thins out once the vegetables are added because the salt in the batter draws out water from the vegetables which thins the batter slightly;

Add vegetables : 

Stir through the fresh vegetables;

Finished batter:

The batter should be quite thick, thick enough to drop balls of it into oil. If It seems too thin, add more chickpea flour;

Form rough patties:

 Drop 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of batter roughly formed into a patty shape (~ 1.5cm / 0.6″ thick) into the oil. I use my hands (as is typical in India!) but you can also use 2 dessertspoons. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I feel it’s safer to use my hands because I have more control and there is less risk of the batter accidentally dropping into the oil from a height, causing splashage.

Remember, don’t crowd the pot! It will lower the oil temperature too much. I generally cook 4 at a time at the beginning to get into the groove of the timing, then up to 6 at a time;

Fry 2 – 3 minutes until golden: Fry the pakoras for 2 to 3 minutes until they are a deep golden and crispy on the outside. They will easily cook through inside in this time;

Drain pakora on paper towels and continue cooking the remainder. Keep cooked pakoras warm in a low oven (80°C / 175°F) on a rack set over a tray.