How To Make Indian Vegetable Fritters
From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: Seven Spoons
Pakora (Indian Vegetable Fritters)
Serves 4
These battered vegetable fritters were one of the reasons that ours was the most popular house on our street for after-school snacks on when I was in elementary school.
My grandmother and mother generally made our pakoras with onions or sliced potatoes and only sometimes with cauliflower. Us kids, meaning my brother and me, and usually a gaggle of friends, would watch in shuffling anticipation as Mum submerged vegetables into the chickpea flour slurry, then raised them back up, letting most of the coating fall away, before finally lowering them into bubbling oil. The mounds of batter and veg would dance around in the karahi (Indian wok), the batter puffing and sputtering as it fried. Once golden all over, the fritters were drained, then brought to the table for immediate, salivating consumption.
Most of the kids ate their pakoras with plain tomato ketchup. My brother and I liked to cut our ketchup with hot sauce, and my grandmother and mother went for green chutney, straight. In those few spots where the batter collected, those pakoras were soft and fluffy; where the batter was thin, they’d fracture and splinter.
Now I make pakoras with almost any and all vegetables I have around. Onions are still my favorite, but Asian eggplant is very good; the batter crunchily contains the velvet meltingness of the flesh within. Sturdy greens, such as kale and peppery mustard, are a revelation, because the coating is thin enough for the leaves to crisp through and through. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, carrots, and skinny green beans are all ones to consider, too.
Approximately 2½ pounds (a generous 1 kg) mixed vegetables, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup (85 g) chickpea flour (gram flour, also called besan in Indian specialty stores)
1 to 2 small fresh red chiles, seeded and minced, or 1 dried red chile, crushed
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more as needed
Oil, for deep-frying (peanut, vegetable, or canola)
SERVING OPTIONS
Flaky sea salt
Lime wedges
Fresh Green Chutney
Tomato ketchup
Hot sauce, such as Sriracha
Prepare the vegetables. For onions, peel and slice them into thin rings horizontally. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, and Jerusalem artichokes should be kept unpeeled, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) slices. Cut beets into ⅛-inch (3 mm) slices or into halves or quarters lengthwise, in which case, parboil the pieces until barely tender when poked with the tip of a knife, then drain and dry well. Carrots can be left whole if skinny, or cut on the diagonal into slices around ¼ inch (6 mm) thick if not. Break the cauliflower into florets and blanch. Green beans can be left whole. Break sturdy greens into individual leaves. Set all the vegetables aside while you make the batter.
In a bowl, stir together the flour, chiles, cilantro, and salt. Slowly stir in enough water to bring the mixture to the consistency of heavy cream. Beat the batter well, until it is lightened and foamy at the edges. Set aside.
Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels, then set a cooling rack upside down on top (so its feet are in the air). In a heavy pot on the stove or in a deep-fryer, pour in enough oil to come about 5 inches (12.5 cm) up the side (or follow the manufacturer’s instructions with a deep-fryer). Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C).
If using onions, separate the slices into individual rings and drop them into the prepared batter, stirring gently to coat. Using a fork, pick up a clump of onion rings and allow the excess batter to drip back into the bowl. Carefully lower the clump of onions into the oil and fry until lightly golden on one side, 30 to 40 seconds. Flip the fritter and cook until crisp on the other side, 20 to 30 seconds more. Remove from the oil and drain on the prepared cooling rack. Season with salt.
Repeat, frying a few at a time, until all the onions are used. For the remaining vegetables, dip each piece in the batter, then lift out the vegetable, shaking off excess. Carefully add the vegetables to the oil without crowding. Turn the fritters now and again to ensure even cooking. When the fritters are golden brown all over and cooked through, transfer them to the rack. Timing will depend on the vegetables used, with harder vegetables taking a few minutes. Continue frying, draining, and salting until all the vegetables and batter are used.
Enjoy immediately, or keep pakoras warm in a low oven until everything is ready. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, with additional wedges available. Offer both the green chutney and a condiment of ketchup blended with hot sauce for dipping.
Reprinted with permission from Seven Spoons by Tara O’Brady (Ten Speed Press).
More vegetable snacks to munch on:
Maple-Balsamic Root Vegetable Fries
Baked Sweet Potato Wedges Recipe
Red Pepper Dip From ‘Soul Food Love’
