Pakora help

karuna

On a whim the other night I decided to make veg pakora. By which I mean separate veg, onion pakora, gobhi pakora etc, not that kind of mixed-veg version.

Considering I had no idea how to do this, the result was not bad, but I couldn't get any kind of spice taste in the batter. So I did what all daughters do and called my mum . She wrung her hands at her inept offspring's use of plain flour instead of besan/gram flour (told you I had no idea!) and suggested adding a little baking powder to made the batter crisper, but confessed she has the same problem as me with regard to the taste.

I once (in India, of course) had the most divine home-cooked pakora with a glorious spiced batter. A shop-bought packet of masala was involved somewhere along the line I think, but also of course many, many years of cooking experience which I lack. Since I can't shortcut the experience bit, is there something else I can do?

What I have tried in various combinations:
- pot of your average supermarket brand mild chilli powder
- ground cumin
- dried red Kashmiri chillies that cost me a small fortune from Waitrose
- curry powder!
- salt

I suspect it's in the choice and cooking of the spices....? Any help gratefully received!

snonymous

What you need to add to get the taste is finely chopped fresh coriander along with a dash of dhania jeera powder, chili powder and salt. [Otherwise it would be a fritter not a pakora]. Some people add a dash of black pepper and haldi powder as well. Observe that a 'dash' means exactly that, a 'dash' - subtle just to taste as you can always have them with a spicy chutney of your choice. My domestic help makes a particularly good potato pakora by using grated potato instead of just sliced. It tastes marvellous. Sometimes he combines grated potato with finely chopped raw onions and finely chopped green chilis, it tastes even better then. But we try and avoid these deep fried yummies nowadays.

karuna

I am an unreconstructed foodie.

Thank you for the tips! What is haldi powder please? I was going to ask about the chutney too...!

capt_mahajan

Haldi is turmeric.

snonymous

Capt Mahajan already told you what haldi is.

Chutney is like sauce but ever so much better. For pakoras and also for fried fish, you can make a simple green chutney by grinding together fresh coriander leaves with onion, garlic, green chilli, a few cumin seed and salt. It is even better if you add coconut. After you grind it to a thick paste, add lime. Alternately add a bit of tamarind while grinding. You can also make it with mint leaves. Some people add a bit of jaggery or a dash of sugar or date paste to get a sweet spicy and sour taste. You can experiment according to your own tastes.

Pakoras go quite well with tomato ketchup or commercially available chilli sauce.

A particularly delicious chili sauce recipe given to me by a Tibetan friend is to grind dry roasted red chili with garlic, vinegar, salt and a pinch of sugar. This goes brilliantly with plain steamed rice and just about anything else. Substitute lime or tamarind for vinegar if you prefer.

India Edge

You may also want to sprinkle the finished pakora with a little chaat masala (available at Indian markets).

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chAos

My favorite pakora have whole coriander seed, roughly crushed, in the batter as well.

xiaojie

I know you asked for spices, but a good tip to make the batter crispier would be put in a spoonful of hot oil..from the wok that u intend to fry the pakoras in..

karuna

Fabulous ideas, thank you all! I can see myself eating far too many of the things in the next couple of days!

vandy

There is a very good Packet Pakora mix by Shans.

No need to add further spices,just Chopped onions,
Chopped Fresh Coriander & fresh Chopped Green Chillies.

The only addition I would consider adding with
Pakhoras is Icy Cold Beer.

rgds

vandy