ACK 8: Savories

Savories can be a meal in themselves, a side dish, or a snack. Most go well with a matching chutney. Some savories, such as pakoras or sevian noodles, can be made at a moment's notice. Others, like samosas and katchoris, take longer because you have to stuff and roll them. But the time is well spent. Samosas, in fact, are so delectable that Srila Prabhupada predicted they will become a favorite snack in the West, as they now are in India.

This chapter will introduce you to some classic cooking techniques: stuffing katchoris and twisting them closed, folding samosas and pleating their tops, forming vadas in one hand, and making chick-pea flour noodles. There are no shortcuts or modern gadgets to do it for you, but with a little practice it becomes easy. And you can cook most savories in advance and reheat them a few minutes before serving.

An essential ingredient for making certain savories is ghee, used for pan-frying and deep-frying. Although you can choose between ghee and vegetable oil, the delicate flavor of ghee will give your savories a master's touch.

Chick-pea flour, called besan in Hindi, is another ingredient often used in savories. It has a distinctive rich flavor, and is available at most health food shops and in Asian groceries.