Mixed Vegetable Pakoras
Who doesn't love a freshly fried fritter? This vegetable pakora recipe is chock-full of onion, zucchini, and cauliflower and is flavored with a mixture of dried herbs and spices.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion (about 1 1/2 cups), peeled, halved, and cut into half moons
- 1 small zucchini coarsely grated
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower cut into small florets
- 1 small green chili such as Thai or jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 2 cups chick pea flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ajwain or carom seeds (optional)
- 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (optional), gently crushed between fingers to release fragrance
- 1 tsp salt
- about 1 1/2 cups water
- canola oil for shallow frying
- Garnishes: Fresh chopped cilantro, lime wedges, Sukhi's Chutney, finishing salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon flake salt
Instructions
- Combine onion, zucchini, cauliflower, and green chili together in a small bowl; set aside.
- Combine chickpea flour, cornstarch, turmeric, cardamom, cumin, carom and fenugreek leaves, if using, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Slowly add water, mixing with a whisk to combine. Add more water as needed (mixture should be like pancake batter); set aside.
- Pour oil to about 1/2 inch in a large cast iron skillet. Heat oil until shimmering and just before it starts to smoke. You can also use a deep-fry thermometer; let oil rise to 350°F.
- When oil is ready, combine vegetables with batter and gently lower large tablespoonfuls of mixture into the hot oil, being careful not to splatter hot oil.
- Let cook a total of 5 to 6 minutes, turning once during the cooking process. If they start to brown too quickly, turn down heat a bit. Drain pakoras on paper towels and sprinkle with finishing salt. Serve immediately with lime wedges, cilantro, and a variety of Sukhi's Chutneys.
Notes
- To test if oil is hot enough, add a tiny bit of the batter into the oil. The batter should bubble and rise to the top.
- Make sure the pakoras do not touch one another in the hot oil or they will stick together.