Pakoras, also known as bhajis, are versatile gluten-free snacks that can be made using vegetables, paneer, chicken or fish deep-fried in a crispy, spiced batter.
Protein-rich gram flour (besan) is used to form the batter which is bound together with water. With little preparation time or cooking expertise required, you can impress your guests without being tied to the kitchen.
Pakoras taste devine with a fresh mint chutney or mango chutney, so have a go at preparing them using my vegetable recipe below and I guarantee you will develop your own passion for pakoras.
Vegetable Pakora Recipe (makes 10-12)
Ingredients
1 medium potato and onion peeled and chopped into coarse, thin slices
Handful of washed spinach leaves) coarsely chopped
150-200g Gram flour (besan)
2 green chillies (finely chopped)
2 tsp coriander seeds (crushed in a pestle and mortar)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp gharam masala
cold water to bind the batter
sunflower oil for deep frying
Method
1. Place all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl and cover with the gram flour.
Add the seeds, spices, salt and chopped chillies to the dry mixture.
2. Slowly add the water from a jug to the mixture and mix after each addition, until a thick wet batter (similar to the consistency of pancake batter) is formed which binds the vegetables together.
3. Deep fry large tabllespoons of the batter in hot oil (sufficiently hot for cube of bread to brown in
15 secs). Cook on medium heat until the batter turns golden and the vegetables and batter is cooked throughout (approx. 10 mins).
4. Fry the pakoras in batches of six or eight so that the temperature of the oil remains constant. Cooking too many at once will cool the oil.
5. Remove the pakoras from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Serve warm with a mint or mango chutney.
Click on the thumbnails for a larger view of the photos.
Another great recipe from DESIblitz.com! Do visit us for more recipes from our growing selection in our FOOD section!
Loading ...