Veggie Pakoras with Raita

 

I had a friend gift me a bag of chana/gram flour a little while ago. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until Sue reminded me that pakoras are made with chana flour! 

Pakoras are pretty much the most delicious things on the planet. I decided to go with veggie pakoras as I have made them a few times before so kind of had an idea of what I was doing. 

A friend passed down this recipe to me and gave me permission to share it with everyone. Keep in mind that there are a bazillion different recipes for pakoras out there. Everyone has a special tweak to their recipe! What is your favorite ingredient to add to pakoras?

Veggie Pakoras With Raita

Ingredients

Raita

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup onion, finely diced

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cumin

Pakoras

1 cup gram/chana flour

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 cup potatoes, juliened

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

1/2 can diced green chilis

1 small head cauliflower, chopped fine

1 tsp crushed coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp crushed cumin

pinch salt

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup water

Oil for deep frying

Directions

Prepare raita - combine the yogurt, onion, lemon, sugar, cilantro, salt, and cumin. Let sit so flavors can blend. Raita can be made a day or so ahead of time. 

Prepare pakoras - mix all pakora ingredients together in a large bowl. If you need to a bit more water then do so a little at a time. It should not be soupy! It will be quite thick. I usually end up adding a few more tablespoons. 

Heat oil in a large pot to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with paper towel and set aside. 

Scoop up about a golf ball sized amount of the mixture in your hand and carefully drop it in the hot oil. Don't crowd the pot - only add about 4 or 5 balls of mixture at a time. 

Cook about 1 minute and then turn over and cook another minute - until golden brown and cooked through.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the pakoras and place them on the paper towel. 

Repeat until all the mixture is used up. Be sure to keep your oil at about 350 - if it lowers too much the pakoras will get oily, if it is too high they will burn. 

Serve warm with the raita for dipping.

This makes a fairly large batch of pakoras so you can share them, eat them aaaaallllll, or freeze some for later! Simply line a container with paper towel, place the pakoras in a single layer, cover and freeze. 

When it comes time to reheat them all you have to do is preheat your oven to 350 and place the frozen pakoras on a cookie sheet. Cook until heated through - about 20 - 30 minutes. 

This is a great dish to bring to a potluck because they reheat so well and they are still delicious at room temperature. A bit of a pain in the butt because of all the deep frying but so worth it IMO. 

Looking for a game night treat? Give these a try. 

And don't forget the raita! Everything is better with dip. :)