ULTIMATE PAKORA CHALLENGE recipe

[Clementine Sandison]

This recipe was shared by Govanhill resident and wonderful cook Nazneen Baig.  Please take part in the ULTIMATE PAKORA CHALLENGE by trying this recipe at home or posting your own recipe for vegetable pakora.  Get experimenting now, post photos, and share tips with your neighbours because on Saturday 30th April there will be a massive pakora taste-off in Westmoreland Street Garden as part of Streetland 2011!  More info coming soon....

 

Nazneen Baig’s Vegetable Pakora

Makes about 40 pieces

 

Ingredients

3 cups Gram flour

2 teaspoons Zeera (whole cumin seeds)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons Garam masala

1 teaspoon methi (dried Fenugreek leaves)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon red chilli powder (add more or use finely chopped green chillies if you like it spicy)

3 medium potatoes

1 onion

5 florettes of broccoli

½ bag fresh spinach

½ Litre sunflower/vegetable oil

Water

 

You can experiment with any combination of vegetables, herbs, and spices you like, just make sure that you chop root vegetables into very small cubes

 

Method

1. Heat the oil gradually in a large deep pan (WARNING: be very careful with hot oil and keep children away from the stove)
2. Peel and finely chop the potatoes, chop all the other vegetables.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together and gradually add water, mixing as you go along, until you have a wet consistency (not runny, but not stiff either). 
4. Mix in the chopped veg, and add more water or gram flour if necessary, the mixture should drop off a spoon in wet clumps.
5. Once the oil is nice and hot, drop one spoonful of mixture into the pan very carefully (hot oil can spit) and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes so that you can test it for seasoning before cooking the rest.
6. When frying the pakora you should turn the heat down low while you are dropping spoonfuls of mixture into the pan and then turn it up quite high to cook them.  Turn the pakora frequently with a slotted spoon so that they brown on all sides without burning.  They will take around 4 -5 minutes to cook and you will need to fry the mixture in 3 or 4 batches.
7. Once the pakora are cooked, drain off the excess oil in a colander and then place on paper towel on a plate.
8. Serve the pakora with chilli sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, yoghurt, mango chutney or anything that takes your fancy.