Pakoda, pakora, pakoda, bhajiya…. Call these batter-coated deep-fried delights by name… Rains and this great Indian snack always go together. More a home-style dish, this can be made using a variety of vegetables, fruits, paneer, bread… The list is endless.
Featured here is a vegetable medley, all crisp fried after dunking in dosa batter to which has been added chickpea flour and spices. The final sprinkle of chaat masala adds to the taste of this rainy day treat.
Food historians say that in the 16th century, Spanish and Portuguese ships would stop in India on their to Japan. They would pick up the Indian cooks who would experiment with Indian dishes. Most food experts believe that the Japanese “tempura” was born out of our Indian Pakoras.
Several evidences to this fact
- The tempura was never a part of Japanese cuisine until Portuguese ships landed on their shores as traders.
- Deep frying is not a part of Japanese culinary tradition.
Thus our humble pakora recipe has traveled far and wide resulting in food fusions that are definitely a foodies delight.
Ingredients for Mixed Veg Pakoda:
Vegetables cut lengthwise into 1-inch pieces such as…..
- Baby corn slit lengthwise
- Carrot sticks
- Capsicum sticks
- Cabbage cut into squares
- Onions sliced
- Chopped coriander
- Green chilly as required
- Dosa batter 1/4cup
- Besan/bengal gram flour/chickpea flour 1 cup
- Chilly powder 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder 1 tsp
- Ajwain/carrot seeds 1/2tsp.
- Asafoetida 1/4tsp.
- Salt as required.
- Oil for frying.
Preparation Method:
- Mix all spices, salt, and flour into the dosa batter.
- Add the vegetables and mix well such that the flour coats the vegetables well.
- Do not add water.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan.
- Deep the coated vegetables till golden brown.
- Remove and drain.
- Sprinkle chaat masala on the hot Pakoras and serve with chutney or sauce of your choice.
