Vegetarian Information

If all you know about East Indian food is papadums and samosas, you’re going to love pakoras - East Indian-style fritters. The batter is made from chickpea flour - known as “besan” or “chana flour” in East and West Indian groceries, and “gram” flour in English.

The filling is up to you: diced vegetables of all kinds. Just make sure you use firm vegetables (i.e., stay away from delicates like peas, snow peas, celery, sprouts). I’m not a beer-drinker myself, but as with samosas, word is that pakoras are great with beer, and thus a great party snack. Keep in mind, though, that pakoras are very high in protein. Don’t over-indulge.

Ingredients:

• Besan/ gram/ chickpea flour (or grind your own from dried chickeas using a coffee/ spice grinder).
• Water to form a batter.
• Salt and black pepper, to taste.
• Crushed red pepper flake (optional).
• 1/2 tsp of mild curry powder or ground cumin. Do not put in too many spices, as they’ll tend to ruin the oil.
• Small onion(s), cut in eighths.
• Any combo of potato, eggplant, zuchinni, cauliflower - all cut into large chunks. Keep in mind that potato takes longer to cook than any of the other veggies. So make the potato pieces smaller. I suppose you could also (separately) use large, firm pieces of cheese.

Preparation:

• Place the chickpea flour or ground chickpeas in a mixing bowl.
• Add salt, pepper, chili flake, and curry powder or cumin.
• Now slowly add about 1/4 cup of water at a time, and mix with a fork. When you have a thick batter that isn’t runny, add another 1/8 cup of water and mix thoroughly. (Basically, keep in mind that this batter is going into hot oil. So the more watery it is, the more likely you are to be spattered with hot oil. But the batter shouldn’t be so thick that it hangs from the veggie pieces in blobs.)
• Add all the diced, raw veggies to the batter and gently mix so that the pieces are all coated.
• If you used your hands, wash them and dry carefully. (As always, be careful around hot oil.)
• Using a deep, heavy cookpot, heat 1-2 inches of cooking oil (canola or vegetable) on high. Test with a tiny drop of batter. It should start cooking immediately, and float fairly soon after. Remove the test piece with a slotted spoon. (If you have a proper food thermometer that is safe to put into hot oil, the temperature should read about 350 F. If the oil is not hot enough, the fritters will absorb oil and become greasy. If the oil is too hot, the outside of the fritters will burn while in the insides will be uncooked. Remember not to fill the oil up to the top of the cookpot, as you’ll need room for the fritters. Too many spoons of batter into the oil at the same time not only lowers the oil’s temperature, but you run the danger of hot oil overflowing the cookpot, potentially starting a fire.)
• For best results, deep fry heaping tablespoonfuls of batter and veggies as individual “balls”. If you don’t have a deep fryer, or prefer shallow frying, use about 1/2 inch of cooking oil in a heavy, cast-iron pan. The latter method produces flatter, denser fritters. The former method produces fluffier but crispy bulging spheres.Cook flat fritters on high heat until almost golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, then flip over to cook the other side (about 3 minutes). (Note: These fritters tend to burn sooner in a cast-iron pan, so you may need to reduce cooking time and/or heat slightly.)
• Use a slotted spoon to remove fritters, and move to a plate lined with a double-layer of paper towels (kitchen paper).
• Let cool slightly for 1-3 minutes.

Presentation:

Serve with tamarind dipping sauce, raita (sour cream w/ small-diced cucumber), mango chutney, sriracha hot sauce, plum sauce, or even ketchup.

(c) Copyright 2006-present, Raj Kumar Dash

Raj Kumar Dash, also known as the very opinionated Elvis Parsley, the “Curry” Elvis, was taught cooking at his mother’s side. A trained cook, he writes about various world cuisines, the health-related aspects of food, food TV shows, and pretty much anything related to the food industry. You can find his new food site (still in revision) at http://www.curryelvis.com/, and four older cooking blog archives by starting http://curryelviscooks.blogspot.com

Tags: east indian snacks, fritters, high protein, party snacks, vegetarianeast indian snacks, fritters, high protein, party snacks, vegetarian

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When I’ve got a craving for a snack with a high mouth feel and belly satisfaction level, I like to have either Japanese-style tempura fritters or East Indian-style pakora fritters (link below). But being the kind of foodie that I am, I often enjoy cross-cultural world cuisine hybrid recipes. I lucked out one day with a great snack combo: shiitake onion “pakura “(pakora/tempura).

They’re easy to make, but require a deep fryer and hot oil for best results. (As always, be careful around hot oil. Minimize your distractions.) If you prefer, you can use a heavy cast iron frying pan and shallow fry the fritters. However, they will be denser, so you won’t get the light, fluffy but crispy texture. But they’re still tasty being pan-fried.

Ingredients

• 4 parts besan (aka chickpea flour, chana flour, or gram flour). (You can find chickpea/ gram flour in Italian markets, and besan/ chana in East/West Indian and Pakistani markets. Some large supermarkets will also have it in their international section. If you cannot find besan, grind up dried chickpeas in a coffee/ spice grinder.)
• 1 part tapioca starch or tempura mix (preferred).
• Salt + pepper to taste.
• Red pepper flake [optional].
• 1-2 parts water. The amount of water will vary. You want to form a paste that’s not too runny. It has to be able to bind the mushroom and onion filling, and stay together in the oil.
• 1 small onion, sliced into thin slivers and pieces separated.
• 4-8 canned shiitake mushrooms, sliced very thinly into strips. (If you want more texture, you could also use “wood ear” or “black fungus”. It’s available in many Asian markets in dried form. Rehydrate a few pieces in a bowl of warm water for 1 hour. Rinse, then cut into thin strips.)

Preparation

• Mix dry ingredients thoroughly with a spoon or fork.
• Slowly add water until a paste, slightly thicker than pancake batter, starts to form.
• Add the sliced onion and shiitake pieces and mix thoroughly.
• Heat oil in some safe (heavy) pot or deep fryer. (If you’re using a cast-iron frying pan, just shallow fry in about a 1/4 inch of oil.)
• Carefully drop in a spoonful of batter at a time. Don’t have too many fritters going in each batch, else the oil’s temperature will drop, causing the fritters to absorb oil and become greasy.
• Fry 2-3 minutes one side, then turn over fritters using a slotted spoon and fry 1-2 minutes on the other. (While the fritters should be golden brown, keep in mind that chickpea flour is very high in protein, burns easily, and stinks when it does so. If possible, try to remove the tiny pieces of loose fried batter as soon as they are cooked or they will burn. If you are using a deep fryer, this might be a bit difficult. It’s recommended that you fry the fritters in a heavy stockpot, if you don’t have a proper deep fryer and don’t want to use a frying pan. The alternative is to not make the batter too watery. This means you have to cook the fritters a bit longer, as they will be thicker.)
• Drain on paper towel (kitchen paper).

Presentation
Serve with a mixture of hot and/or sweet sauces, including chutneys, sambal oelek (hot chili paste), sriracha (smooth chili paste), plum sauce, sour cream, or onion dip.

Link: High-Protein Chickpea Pakora Fritters - Pt 2 of Saving Money on Party Snacks.

(c) Copyright: 2006-present, Raj Kumar Dash

Raj Kumar Dash, also known as the very opinionated Elvis Parsley, the “Curry” Elvis, was taught cooking at his mother’s side. A trained cook, he writes about various world cuisines, the health-related aspects of food, food TV shows, and pretty much anything related to the food industry. You can find his new food site (still in revision) at http://www.curryelvis.com/, and four older cooking blog archives by starting at http://curryelviscooks.blogspot.com.

Tags: fusion cuisine, high protein recipes, indian snacks, japanese snacks, party snacks, vegetarianfusion cuisine, high protein recipes, indian snacks, japanese snacks, party snacks, vegetarian

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