Vegetable Pakoras

Wow, what happened.. Work got the better of me and before i knew it, two weeks has gone by! Sorry about that.. That doesn't mean that there haven't been plenty of cooking and eating however..

I have been experimenting with different Pakora recipes for a while and here is the result. Pakoras are these Indian little vegetable patties packed with veggies and mixed in with a besan (chickpea) flour batter. The result is this crispy on the outside and crunchy, yet creamy veggie goodness on the inside.

They are also a wicked way of using up whatever is left in the fridge and make great use of the parts of the veggies that you may not (but really should, I know) always use like broccoli and cauliflower stems.

You can use whatever mix of veggies that takes your fancy as longs as they are resonably firm. Carrots, parsnips, swedes, potatoes, kumara, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, celery..

I love using chickpea flour as it provides plenty of substance and is full of protein. A great way to boost the protein in a vegetarian dish.

Serve them with a fresh, green leafy salad and a yogurt/lemon/mint/garlic dip.

Makes about 4 servings

For the batter:
1.5 cup besan (chickpea) flour
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup water

For the veggies:
4 cups finely (about 5mm square) vegetables (I used a mix of parsnip, cauliflower, broccoli & kumara)

1/2 chopped coriander (or any green leafy herb like parsly or basil)

light olive oil to fry

Mix the ingredients for the batter in a bowl and let rest for 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the veggies by chopping them finely and mix them all up together with the herbs in a bowl. Once the batter has rested, mix it in with the veggies. It should just coat all the veggies and become a sticky veggie and batter mix.

Cover the bottom of a frypan with 3-5 mm of oil and heat up. Now to the tricky bit, making the patties. Grab a couple of tbs of veggie/batter mix and press it in the palm on your hand. It won't completely bind but experiment a bit and you will find the right amount of pressure required to make the keep together before they hit the pan. The batter is really sticky so it will make it much easier if you work with slightly wet hands. Form the patties and shallow fry in the oil until golden and crispy, about 5 min/side. Once done, let them drain on a papertowel before you serve them.