Saturday 18 December 2010

Pakoras (GF) (DF) (V) (EF) (NF)

Pakoras

Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Vegetarian (Vegan)
Egg Free
Nut Free

You will need a wok/karahi/chip pan/deep fat fryer containing approximately 1 litre vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil or crisp n’ dry but not olive oil- how much oil you use depends on the size of the pan used for frying).

1 litre vegetable oil (for frying)
2 large white baking potatoes
1 large onion (optional)
A handful of fresh chopped coriander (optional)
3 cups gram flour (besan)
2.5 tsp mild chilli powder
2.5 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp garam masala
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
0.5 tsp ajwain/lovage seeds (optional)
A little water

- In a large bowl, stir all of the spices into the gram flour.

- Peel and slice the onion, then peel and slice the potatoes into slices which are about 3mm thick.

- Stir in the onion, potatoes and fresh coriander into the gram flour until the slices are coated with the spicy flour.

- Stir in a little water at a time until there are no dry floury lumps left. If there are floury lumps left, then stir in a little more water, but if the batter becomes too thin or watery, then add a little more gram flour. The batter mixture should have the consistency of creamy yogurt. Leave the mixture aside for about 10 minutes.

- Heat up the oil for roughly 2 minutes. You’ll know the oil is ready when you add a drop of the mixture to it and it sizzles at the edges a bit (If the mixture sizzles too much and browns instantly, the oil is too hot, and if the mixture drops to the bottom, the oil is too cold).

- When the oil is ready, use a desert spoon to drop a few mixture coated slices at a time, until the pan is full and sizzling mildly. After about 2-3 minutes, turn the pakoras over and continue to cook them for another 2-3 minutes so that they cook on both sides. Make sure they become lightly golden brown on both sides and that is when you know that they are ready (if you’re making a large amount, you may have to fry them in 2 or 3 batches).

- Use a slotted spoon or a wire net to remove the pakoras and allow them to dry on kitchen towels for a minute. If you’re cooking more than one batch of pakoras, at this point, the hob should be turned down so that the oil is not too hot for the next batch.

- Serve the pakoras with ketchup, imli (tamarind) sauce and/or minty yogurt sauce.

No comments:

Post a Comment