ACK 8.5: Sada pakora

Sada pakora

Spiced chick-pea-flour fritters

Sada pakoras go well with white or brown rice and kadhi sauce. If you make them smaller, about the size of a grape, they can be added to wet vegetables such as sukta or mater alu takari. Mix them into the vegetable dish at least ten minutes before serving so they have time to soak up some of the sauce. They can also be eaten with a chutney as a snack.

Preparation and cooking time: 20 min

8 oz (225 g) chick-pea flour
1 tablespoon kalinji seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
1/3 pint (200 ml) cold water
ghee or vegetable oil for deep-frying

Prepare the batter as in the previous recipe for pakora, but make it thicker, almost pastelike. Get air into the batter by beating it vigorously. Scoop up some batter with a tablespoon or small icecream scoop, and put 2-3 lumps of it into the hot ghee or vegetable oil. The lumps will immediately swell and sizzle on the surface of the ghee or oil. Quickly add more lumps of the batter until the surface of the ghee is covered with sizzling pakoras.

Adjust the heat so that it takes the pakoras 4-5 minutes to become crisp and uniformly golden-brown (turn them once or twice with a slotted spoon). Remove and drain.

Bhajas are a variation of sada pakoras. You can prepare and cook them in exactly the same way, except for the spicing. Instead of the ground cinnamon, coriander, and cumin, use 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander leaves, and one fresh chili, chopped fine.

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