Whip It Up Wednesdays – Shweta’s Crispy Veg Pakoras
Tasty, filling, and munch worthy, this Whip-it-up-Wednesdays we bring you our favorite crispy veg pakoras or fritters! A regular in iftar meals and probably the snacks of choice for all desis – this one is a must-try!
Veg Pakoras are perfectly spiced crispy Indian snacks. It can be made with any vegetable of your choice, like onion, potato, spinach, cauliflower, bottle gourd, eggplant, paneer, etc. I am using onion, potato, and bottle gourd with gram flour and semolina. Indians like to grub these perfect evening snacks especially when it’s raining. These can be served with green chutney, tomato sauce, or any dip of your choice along with tea, coffee, soda, or any other drink.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 5 servings (5 Plates)
Ingredients:
1. Three medium-sized potatoes (finely chopped)
2. One small size bottle gourd (grated)
3. One medium-size onion(finely chopped)
4. One teaspoon ginger garlic paste
5. Three green chilies (chopped)
6. Two cup gram flour
7. One cup semolina
8. Half teaspoon turmeric powder
9. Half teaspoon red chilli powder
10. One teaspoon roasted cumin powder
11. One teaspoon roasted coriander powder
12. One teaspoon garam masala
13. Two teaspoon lemon juice
14. Salt to taste
15 Half cup water or as required to make a thick smooth paste
16. Oil as required to deep fry
Instructions:
1. Take a large bowl and add all the cut vegetables and green chilies in it
2. Add gram flour and semolina in it and mix well
3. Add ginger-garlic paste and mix well
4. Add salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, chili powder and mix well
5. Add water in parts to make a thick smooth paste
6. Add lemon juice and mix well
7. Place a saucepan over a medium-high flame and add oil in it to deep fry the pakoras
8. Use a spoon to carefully drop a ball of the prepared paste into the oil (Take teaspoon to make medium-sized veg pakoras)
9. Deep fry until fully cooked, crispy and golden brown in color
10. Once cooked, take the pakoras out and put them on a clean paper towel/kitchen roll to absorb extra oil
11. Repeat to deep fry the remaining batter in batches
12. Serve hot with any dip and drink of your choice
Tip:
1. You can taste from the first batch to check for spice level and salt and adjust it in subsequent batches to your taste.
2. Use the medium flame to fry the veg pakoras. In low flame, pakoras will soak in a lot of oil, and the high flame will burn the pakora from outside while they remain uncooked from inside.
