Pakora
Make irresistible pakora and sink your teeth into their ridiculously crispy goodness. The exterior gives way to the most perfect soft center - it's an instant addiction. They're incredibly light and airy and best eaten soon after emerging from hot oil.
Servings: 20 pakora
Ingredients
For vegetables:
- 1 cup thinly-sliced onion
- 1 cup thinly-sliced cauliflower florets
- 1 cup loosely-packed baby spinach coarsely-chopped
- 1 serrano pepper or 2 thai red chilies, minced
- 2 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For batter:
- ⅔ cup chickpea flour
- 3 tbsp cornstarch or rice flour
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Add veggies to a large bowl and sprinkle with salt; toss thoroughly and let stand while you prepare the batter and heat the oil. This gives the salt time to draw moisture from the vegetables.
- Heat 2-3 inches of oil (the sides of the pot should be at least twice the depth of the oil) in a large dutch oven over medium heat until it reaches 375ºF.
- Meanwhile, whisk chickpea flour, cornstarch, cayenne and turmeric in a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle the chickpea mixture over the veggies and add the water. Use your hands to tass and press the mixture together until all flour is moistened. It will seem very dry - this is normal. Let rest 5 minutes to hydrate.
- Using slightly dampened hands, squeeze the mixture into 1 ½ tbsp balls to form parkora. Use tongs to carefully slide 6-8 pakora into the hot oil, one at a time.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until deeply golden.
- Briefly drain pakora on a wire rack and repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 25kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.05g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.3mg