Pakora

One of my favorite treats is an Indian-style veggie fritter called Pakora.  I got this recipe from my brother-in-law who is Indian.

This works best if you have a deep fryer, but don’t use the basket as the pakora batter is very sticky and will make for really annoying clean up.  Beware that these also smell up the house like curry and oil.  I usually put the deepfryer on the stove top and crank the exhaust fan to high to help reduce it.

Pakora

The Veggies:

• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets (or 2 small heads)
• 6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 large onions, cut into large chunks

I had to split the veggies between 2 large mixing bowls and for that reason made the batter in two separate batches.

The Batter:

Make the following, twice:

• 2 cups chana (chickpea) flour
• 4 Tbsp garam masala powder
• 4 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 Tbsp red chili flakes
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• water, to make the right consistency

Heat vegetable oil in a deepfryer to 375F.  Combine veggies in a large bowl and mix to distribute.  In a smaller bowl combine the dry ingredients, add the lemon juice, and add water slowly until the batter is the consistency of a pancake batter.  You’ll need to make enough batter to coat the veggies well, so you may need to make more batter if you had larger than average veggies and just keep working towards the desired results.

Mix batter and veggies well, to combine.   Scoop batter and veggies up by a large spoonful (I used a large serving spoon) and drop into hot oil in batches.  It should clump together and form like a fritter of veggies.  You’ll still have some smaller bits that break off on their own too, and that’s ok.  Cook in the oil until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Use a wire spyder to turn the pakora fritters over part way through cooking and evenly brown.

Remove from hot oil and drain on paper towels.

This recipe makes a TON of pakora.  Serve them fresh and hot with tamarind chutney.  When the leftovers are cooled, cut them into more manageable pieces and freeze them in a tightly sealed ziploc bag.  To reheat, just throw them in a 350F oven for 10 minutes or so until they are heated through.

Levi says that the batter reminds him of onion ring batter.  I wouldn’t know since I’ve never made onion rings.  But, I think if we seasoned the flour Cajun-style instead of Indian-style it would make a wicked tasting onion ring.  So, maybe we’ll try that next time.

PS: I really need to learn to take pictures immediately after cooking and not after eating and cleaning up.  I will post pics the next time I reheat some pakora as they are all in the freezer now.  My bad.