ACK 10.21: Phal ka pakora

Phal ka pakora

Fruit fritters

Practically any fruit can be used to make phal ka pakoras. Bananas can be cut into slices, pineapples into small chunks, apples and pears into wedges. Small fruits like strawberries can be dipped in the batter and deep-fried whole. If you want to leave out the baking powder, the crust will be a little harder but just as tasty.

Preparation and cooking time: 25 min

2 cups (200 g) white flour
ghee for deep-frying
1 tablespoon milk powder (optional)
1 lb (450 g) fresh fruit, trimmed and cut into uniform pieces
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) warm milk
3 tablespoon powdered sugar

Mix together, in a large bowl, all the ingredients except the fruit, ghee, and powdered sugar, to make a batter thick enough to coat the fruit. Place a handful of the cut fruit into the batter. Mix so that each piece is completely covered.

Heat the ghee in a karhai, wok, or shallow saucepan over medium heat. The ghee is ready when a drop of batter bubbles and rises to the surface immediately after being dropped in. Remove the coated pieces of fruit from the batter, one by one, and gently drop them into the hot ghee. Cover the surface of the ghee with one layer of pakoras. Fry for about 3 or 4 minutes until they are golden-brown and crisp. Then remove with a slotted spoon and put into a strainer to allow the excess ghee to drain. If there is batter left over, cut up enough extra fruit to finish it.

Sprinkle the powdered sugar over them and serve them warm or at room temperature. Phal ka pakoras are delicious eaten by themselves or served with milk sweets such as shrikhand or khir.

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