Cookbook:Deep Fried Chickpea Dough Curry Snacks (Pakoda)
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Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes | Indian Cuisine
Pakoda is a savoury South Indian fried snack made from gram flour, spices and onions. This simple recipe is for Pakoda, as made in Tamil Nadu, India. A different version called "Pakora" is famous in the other parts of India. The difference is that for making "Pakora", the batter/mix can be a bit more liquidy like for making pancakes and different vegetables like spinach, potatoes may be used for the same, but not in this recipe, which makes crunchier snacks.
Variation I[edit | edit source]
Ingredients[edit | edit source]
For 2 servings:
- 1 cup (240g) of Besan or gram flour
- 0.5 cup water
- 2 tspns rice flour (for crunchiness)
- 2 tspns green gram flour(optional - for added crunch)
- salt to taste
- ¼ tspn of asafoetida
- ¼ tspn of turmeric
- ¼ tspn of cayenne pepper
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 1 tspn of cumin powder
- 1 tspn of crushed black peppercorns
- 1 medium-sized onion, chopped finely
- 0.5 cup peanuts, preferably roasted
- 1 tspn oil for the flour mix
- oil to fry
Procedure[edit | edit source]
Preparation Time: 20 Minutes
- Add all the dry ingredients except the salt, peanuts and onions and mix well.
- Now add the onions, peanuts and oil (1 tspn) along with the salt and mix well.
- Keep aside for about 10 mins. The moisture from the onions will ooze out into the batter.
- Making sure to add a little bit of water at a time, make a batter which will form chunks but break into pieces with a little bit of pressure. The consistency should be of the same as when making scones. Too much water and the pakoda will not be crunchy.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed vessel.
- Shape the batter into chunks and deep-fry medium hot oil until it is golden brown and crispy. Too much turmeric might give it a darker color.
- Serve hot or room temperature. Store at room temperature for about 3-4 days. Should not be refrigerated to maintain the crunch. The pakoda may be served with ketchup or any style of chutney.
Variation II: Maharashtrian Method[edit | edit source]
Ingredients[edit | edit source]
- 5-6 onions, peeled and sliced thin
- 2-3 green chiles, washed and finely diced
- salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- Gram flour
- Oil
Procedure[edit | edit source]
- Combine onions and chiles. Mix in salt, and let sit 10-15 minutes.
- Mix in turmeric, chili powder, cumin, and coriander.
- By this time the onion mix should be moist due to added salt and spices. If a moister mix is required, allow to stand another 5 minutes.
- Start adding gram flour to the onion mix a little at a time. The mixture should not be dry. Add the flour just to absorb the moistness. You should end up with a somewhat sticky mixture.
- Heat sufficient oil in a wok or frying pan. Once heated sufficiently carefully take around 2-3 tbsp of hot oil and add to the onion and gram flour mix. Mix well.
- Drop in a few small to medium chunks of batter at a time in the medium hot oil. Fry until it gets a golden brown colour. If you have used 4-5 large onions and a medium wok you are likely to need 3-4 batches of frying to finish the batter.
- Serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- A tradition during the monsoon season is to serve piping hot tea after pakodas.