Vegetable Pakoras
February 19th, 2007 filed under Appetizers, Vegan
Pakoras are an all-time favorite snack in India- perfect for a rainy day or a cocktail party! Pakoras are delicious paired with a cup of hot spicy Indian Chai.
Pakoras are made with different vegetables, which are dipped in a spicy besan (gram flour) batter and deep-fried.
This recipe uses potatoes, cauliflower and zucchini.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup besan (gram flour)
- 3 tablespoons rice flour (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of coarsely ground coriander powder (dhania)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 2 chopped green chilies
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (hara dhania)
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 3/4 cup of water (Use water as needed)
- Oil to fry
- 1 small potato, sliced thin
- 8 thin slices of cauliflower
- 1/2 small zucchini, sliced thin
Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients together: besan, rice flour, coriander powder, and salt. Tip: rice flour adds to the crispness.
- Add the water slowly to make a smooth batter (batter should be consistency of pancake batter or dosa batter)
- Next, add the green chilies and cilantro. Mix well.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.
- The frying pan should have at least 11/2 inch of oil. (To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in oil. The batter should come up but not change color right away).
- Dip the vegetable slices in the batter one at a time and slowly drop in frying pan.
- Fry the pakoras in small batches. The pakoras will take about 4 to 5 minutes to cook.
- Turn them occasionally. Fry the pakoras until both sides are golden-brown.
- Repeat this process. The crispy, delicious pakoras are ready to serve.
Tips:
If oil is too hot pakoras will not be crispy and or if oil is not hot enough pakoras will be greasy.
Variations:
You can use almost any vegetable when making these pakoras, such as eggplant, onion, cabbage, bell pepper, and different kinds of chilies! Feel free to experiment!
Serving Suggestions:
- The pakoras are even tastier when dipped in fresh cilantro chutney, tamarind chutney, ranch dressing.
- Pakoras taste best when served hot.
- You can make the pakoras in advance and when ready to eat, spread on a cookie sheet and heat in the oven on 300-degree heat. You can also make sandwiches with the left over pakoras.
I just tried this recipe for lunch and I loved it! The rice flour really makes the beignets very crispy.
i love this recipe but i usually make them wih spinach only and i love them like that but this recipe is very yummy as well
i love ur food i wish i was at ur house
Thank you, thank you! Everything always turns out so delicious! I love your recipes. A friend of mine uses banana peppers, too, and stuffs them before putting them in the batter… “with a paring knife make a small vertical slit. Make a paste combining 1 teaspoon of mango powder, 1 teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Stuff 1 teaspoon of paste into banana peppers.” Then put in batter.
hey
it was gud thank you very much
thank you so much manjula aunty …..
you are great , love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
i love all your recipe and will pray to god to give you all the happiness as because of you i am able to serve good food to my family.
you are blessing to all girls like me who are scared of cooking ….
with your simple recipe you create interest in cooking .
whole of my life i will never ever forget you …
my mother in law is also jain and she also cooks same things you cook but never taught me ….but with your help i can please every one…..
god bless you
love you
regsrds
villea
thx 4r helping ladies like us who hve just got married. and never worked i nkitchen
You are amazing! You should have your own cooking show. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Your husband is such a lucky man
Thx a lot for all your recipes. I’m French and I love vegetarian indian food.
Tried making these for the first time today and was really pleased with the results. Thanks for the Recipe.