simple pakora

[sanilss]

The simple pakora is an easy to prepare deep-fried snack. The following makes pakoras for 2-3 people.

You need ..

Vegetables like onions, potatoes and cauliflower
Half-cup chick pea flour (use half-coffee mug chick pea flour)
Quarter cup water
half-tea spoon chilli powder
1 and half-tea spoon cumin powder
1 table spoon of ginger and garlic paste (can be ommited if you don't have this. But recommended)
Chopped coriander (optional, but recommended for great taste)
Enough oil for deep-frying


Mix the chick-pea flour and water. This mix must not be too watery. You can add more chick-pea flour if needed to change the consistency of the mix. The chick pea flour is likely to form lumps when mixed with water. Make sure you remove these lumps. Make sure that this batter mix is smooth.

Add chilli powder, salt, cumin powder, ginger/garlic paste, coriander to the above batter. Mix properly. Leave it aside for 5 mins.

Cut the vegetables according to the size of the pakoras needed. Onions and potatoes can be cut in a circular fashion. Before deep-frying ensure that there is no water content on the washed vegetables.

Heat the oil for deep-frying. The oil must be tested for suitability for deep-frying. To do this, add a small drop of the batter to the oil. If the oil is ready the batter will start to fry quickly. This means it is ready and the pakoras can be cooked.

Dip the vegetable slices in batter and coat them fully. Gently drop them in the oil and fry them till they are golden brown (usually takes about 3-4 mins). Remove the pakoras.

The oil does not have to be on high flame. As a guide, gas mark 4 out of 6 should be fine.