A real home favourite for as long as I’ve been eating. Normally reserved for when we had visitors or a special treat, I remember the excitement of helping Jhaiji make them and then the endless tasting to see if they were okay… White lies are acceptable when tasting ones mother’s food!

There isn’t a definitive set of vegetables to use but the most common were/are: potatoes, cauliflower, aubergine, spinach (or greens) and of course onion. Normally potato and onion were always used with one or more of the others! Currently I’m experimenting with other vegetables, so I’ll keep you posted on my successes and failures!

The mix… 

 
The cooking…

  
The pakora… 

  
Serve with a spicy yoghurt, tamarind or hot tomato ketchup dip! 

What you need…

There are no quantities below.. See tips in the next section… Most of this is to taste.

A selection of vegetables chopped into chunks of about 2cm.

Garam masala.

Salt.

Fresh ginger… Julienned or chopped/diced coarsely.

Fresh chillies… To taste.

Amchoor… Dried mango powder.

A sprinkling of bicarbonate.

Besan… Gram flour.

Fresh coriander.. Chopped coarsely.

Something to deep fry the pakora in.

What you need to do… 

Put all the mix into a large mixing bowl.

Keep adding drizzles of water to form a thick batter mix with the vegetables. If it becomes to runny, sprinkle more besan and mix. 

Tasting is very important… 

Salt… Needs to be saltier than you would normally want. 

Chillies.. This purely personal preference. 

Garam masala.. This should be more than subtle. 

Amchoor.. There should be sour/tangy undertones.. Not overpowering. 

He oil for deep frying should be on a medium to high heat. To test if it’s hot enough.. Drop some batter in and it should bubble and rise to the surface. 

Using a table spoon if you don’t like getting your hands messy… Drop a heaped tablespoon amount of mix into the oil. Depending on the size of your fryer, drop as many in as you can without overcrowding them. They shouldn’t be sticking together. 

You will need to flip them occasionally, to ensure they are browned all round.  Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove and place on kitchen paper to drain. 

Best served warm!

What to do next… 

As I said, best served warm but great when cold too! Serve with any dip you want… Try this Quick tomato dip.

Pakora can also be used like falafel, in a wrap or stuffed into a pitta with salad and yoghurt! 

Enjoy!

Coming soon… Bombay Train Company