What is pakora

Adventurous cooks can add slivered onions or chunks of cilantro to make the batter more interesting. One very popular form is pyaz pakora, which is made with onions.

Paneer pakora or cheese pakora is another favorite version of this dish, as is palak pakora, made with spinach, along with aloo pakora, made with potatoes. Many cooks like to prepare mixed platters so that diners have a number of options to choose from, keeping the meal more interesting. Like other deep fried foods, pakora can get greasy if they are not prepared carefully.

Using peanut oil can help to reduce the grease factor when frying, creating a light, crispy, tender flavor. It is also important to keep the oil at an optimal temperature. It happens to all of us at some time.

But dont waste the burnt ones. I usually crush them up, mix with a little cooked rice, add some leftover curry sauce if you have any and give it to the dog. My dog absolutely adores them even if they are burnt. You could also put them in the garden for any wildlife to have.

I have had foxes, badgers hedgehogs and birds eating any burnt offerings that have been put out. Hi Elaine Yes you can but personally I think they are best fresh out the frier. Once they cool down you loose the crispy crunch, they are still lovely but they do go soft. What you could do is fry them a little in advance and put them in the oven to keep them warm. I hope this helps. Hi Hari, Can I cook these Pakora in advance and reheat in the oven later without ruining the flavours?

Thanks Elaine. Hi Jim No not for pakora - you don't need to The oil is hot enough to cook them through. Hope you enjoy them. Hari Do you boil the potatoes before you grate them? Hi Devin Good question - There are many different recipes for these types of dishes because they have usually get passed down through families. For this dish I tend not to use baking powder because it's more about the crispy vegetables then the batter.

I do add baking powder in my fish pakora but not in this dish. If you are trying to recreate the dish your grandmother used to make you could make half using this recipe and then add some baking powder to the remaining mixture and see if you prefer a more fluffy batter?

I hope this helps, do let me know how you get on. Hi Hari, I made some pakoras before looking at your recipes and they did not turn out good. I was missing few items and that is why I am checking for professional advice.

You have not mentioned the use of baking powder any where, which I remember my grandmother used to put a pinch so that pakoras come out fluffy. Is that required or you don't feel the need of this at all? Just made these for lunch and they were lovely. Hi Celene No that's fine remember this dish is about the vegetables not about eating batter. It's great that you squeezed the water from the vegetables rather then adding lots of water to it.

If ever you feel its too wet you can sprinkle in a tiny bit more flour. Once thing to be aware of though and I do say it on the recipe - once the vegetables are all mixed in the batter you need to cook them pretty quickly to get the best pakora so make sure you oil is heating up gently before you start.

Think i might have doe something wrong. Found it to b very wet didn't nd to add water. Not much batter but tasted brill. Thank u. Hi Chloe That's a shame that you don't enjoy eating Indian food. What is it that you are not keen on and maybe I can make some suggestions? I have to say I am super impressed that you are still managing to cooking it for your 2 year old though. There isn't anything that you can really substitute Fenugreek for, if you don't have any I would just miss it out.

If you email me through the website with your address I will pop some in the post to you. Hi Hari, After a bit of searching ive found gram flour at a large Asda to make these for my spice loving 2 year old. God knows where she gets it from as I myself really hate the taste of curry lol but she'll eat even the hottest ones! Strangely I had a short period where I craved infisn food when oregnant, even though I've always hated it, must have been what she wanted lol anyway my question is I can't find fenugreek leaves anywhere and unfortunately where I live there aren't any Asian supermarkets around, is there anything I can substitute it for?

Or would it affect the taste much if I left it out all together? Thanks x. Hi Patrick So glad I could help even though you did burn the first batch - I won't tell anyone.

I hope your team were suitably impressed with your efforts. Sounds like I missed out! Do let me know what else you choose to cook. Thanks for your advice about the oil temperature, it never even dawned on me that cooking the pakoras would lower the temperature of the oil, and I'd have to raise the heat to make make up for it.

I managed to burn the first batch whoops but every subsequent one came out perfectly! I made an 8 person version of your Bhuna for my team in work and they went perfectly with it! Thanks again.

Hi Yes I do it should just mush away into the masala. Haha trying to! Yeah think I might try them thanks. Thanks James. Hi James You sound like you are cooking up a storm and yes they would have made a great starter. You could try the plain aloo tikki as a starter instead this time? Hari That is very generous of you I will check at an Indian grocers that's a couple of towns away first then I might have to take you up on the offer because the pakoras sound amazing!

I'm currently making your Lamb karahi and roti recipes for tonight and thought they would have gone perfectly as a starter. Hi James It's really difficult to substitute gram flour in this recipe because you just won't get the same results. You could try buckwheat flour but again i'm not convinced. If you email me through the website with your address I will send some to you. Hi Hari I was planning on making these but can't find gram flour in my local supermarkets or grocery shops, could I use plain or wholemeal flower instead and just add some extra spices to give them a boost or will the texture be all wrong?

Hi Patrick This can be tricky and you have to be mindful that if you add more pakora the oil will cool down and you may need to increase the temperature then reduce it again once the temperature has come up again. You need to start heating your oil when you start to cook to give it time to heat up evenly. I put mine on a medium heat and just keep an eye on it. The way I test the oil is to drop in a small drop of the batter - It should sink to the bottom then rise gently to the top sizzling away.

Or you could drop in a cube of bread this should toast and crisp up in a few seconds. An ideal size for the pakora is about a heaped tablespoon of the mixture. They should take about minutes to crisp up and turn golden brown and cook all the way through. I really hope this helps - do let me know how you get on. Hey Hari! We've made these pakoras a good few times and they're always fantastic. One thing I find hard though is getting the temperature of the oil right.

Some of them either end up burnt, or appear to be golden and crispy on the outside, but still a bit doughy on the inside. I probably need to make them a bit smaller, but is there a good way to test the temperature of the oil?

I don't have a thermometer! Hi Paul Yum - they look delicious. I'm so pleased you enjoyed them and thanks for sharing the picture - making me hungry! What will you try next? Hi Pam I know it can be really stressful when you are looking for one great recipe. Everyone makes their pakora mix differently because every family dose it differently. A traditional pakora is vegetarian and in India that also means no eggs so a traditional pakora would never be made with an egg batter.

This recipe is a basic recipe that you can then tweak to make your own by adding cauliflower, spinach, fenugreek leaves or aubergine. Give it a go it's a really simple one but they do taste fantastic. I hope this helps , let me know how yo get on. Hi Hari, here's a shareable link to a pic of my pakora, they were asdelicious as they look!

Hi every pakora batter mix I see is totally different , why,? I also tnought you use eggs , some receipes have eggs some dont totally confused!!!! Hi Paul That's very satisfying to hear!!

Are you on social media twitter or FB at all? Your raita sounds delicious - I might have top try it! Whats next on your list? Hi Hari, I'm happy to say the pakoras were a triumph! The person I cooked for had never eaten them before and said "oh my God, how long has this been going on?

They're fantastic! Very pleasing. I loved the recipe, it tasted exactly like the pakoras of my youth. I tweaked the recipe a little by adding half a teaspoon of your madras spice mix from the Lamb Madras recipe and a little more Kasoori Methi. Add the tomato mixture and get your hands in there, mixing well until everything is incorporated. Add a little lemon juice and seasoning.

Heat the oil to C. Take a handful of the mix and squeeze it into a loose little ball, to ensure the vegetables stick to each other when lowered in the oil.

Use a spoon to carefully drop the ball into the oil. Fry for about 4 mins until golden and crispy, then taste to test for seasoning and consistency.

Repeat, frying the remaining mixture in batches. Subscriber club Reader offers More Good Food. Back to Recipes Pumpkin recipes Butternut squash See more. Back to Recipes Chicken slow cooker Veggie slow cooker See more. Back to Recipes Cheesecakes Cookies See more. Back to Recipes Family meals One-pot recipes See more.

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