Pakoras - Indian spicy wafers
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Uthra Sriram
By Uthra Sriram
Published on 03/16/2009
Pakoras are vegetable slices dipped in batter and deep fried; they are wonderful as a starter or an anytime snack.
Pakoras - Indian spicy wafers
Pakoras or bhajjis as the locals call them are an international favourite; I have seen many people go ga-ga over them; they take hardly 10 minutes to prepare and are an excellent choice for snacking on a cold winter afternoon or to impress people with your crisp golden starter.
You need an assortment of vegetables like potato, brinjal, cucumber, cauliflower, mushroom, bell peppers, etc. sliced into .2cm thickness; for the batter you need rice flour 2 portions and gram flour 5 portions; mix them well; add salt to taste; 1/2 tsp asoefotida; then 1/2 tsp red chilli powder; then optinal, food coloring - red; lastly add 1tbsp of smoking hot oil; mix well with a ladle; then add water and mix slowly and thoroughly without any lumps; the consistency should be that of a cake mix; you should be able to coat the vegetables when you drop them in the batter. But the ultimate pakora is made using onion slices; the onions are cut into thin round shapes and dropped in the batter; be careful so that the onion rings do not seperate.The batter can be a little thicker for onion pakoras so that handling them is a little easier.
Heat oil - about 2 cups, till smoking hot and reduce flame; dip sliced vegetbles ( a few at a time ) in the batter; slide them gently into the hot oil one by one; keep turning them over; add a maximum of 4-5 pieces at a time; fry till golden brown and remove; drain excess oil and serve hot.
You can even make the batter a little thinner than normal and make pakoras out of bread slices cut into triangles; this particular pakora goes beautifully with ketchup and kids love it.For spice lovers, another variation is of green chillies; slit them and remove the seeds; mince onions and add a dash of salt & lemon juice; use this as filling in the slit chillies; dip them in thick batter to get a smooth coating and deep fry.But this will burn the roof of your tongue to the untried palate, so be warned!!But it will keep you warm ona cold winter night and it goes beautifully with Scotch and soda; it is served routinely in India's hill stations with drinks.
You can also try it with cheese slices; but take care to add more salt and chilli powder so that your pakoras dont turn out bland. They can be served with either ketchup or spicy green chutney or swee date chutney.
You need an assortment of vegetables like potato, brinjal, cucumber, cauliflower, mushroom, bell peppers, etc. sliced into .2cm thickness; for the batter you need rice flour 2 portions and gram flour 5 portions; mix them well; add salt to taste; 1/2 tsp asoefotida; then 1/2 tsp red chilli powder; then optinal, food coloring - red; lastly add 1tbsp of smoking hot oil; mix well with a ladle; then add water and mix slowly and thoroughly without any lumps; the consistency should be that of a cake mix; you should be able to coat the vegetables when you drop them in the batter. But the ultimate pakora is made using onion slices; the onions are cut into thin round shapes and dropped in the batter; be careful so that the onion rings do not seperate.The batter can be a little thicker for onion pakoras so that handling them is a little easier.
Heat oil - about 2 cups, till smoking hot and reduce flame; dip sliced vegetbles ( a few at a time ) in the batter; slide them gently into the hot oil one by one; keep turning them over; add a maximum of 4-5 pieces at a time; fry till golden brown and remove; drain excess oil and serve hot.
You can even make the batter a little thinner than normal and make pakoras out of bread slices cut into triangles; this particular pakora goes beautifully with ketchup and kids love it.For spice lovers, another variation is of green chillies; slit them and remove the seeds; mince onions and add a dash of salt & lemon juice; use this as filling in the slit chillies; dip them in thick batter to get a smooth coating and deep fry.But this will burn the roof of your tongue to the untried palate, so be warned!!But it will keep you warm ona cold winter night and it goes beautifully with Scotch and soda; it is served routinely in India's hill stations with drinks.
You can also try it with cheese slices; but take care to add more salt and chilli powder so that your pakoras dont turn out bland. They can be served with either ketchup or spicy green chutney or swee date chutney.