Like My Grandmother Used to Make: Vegetable Pakora
In the latest edition of our regular series, Usma Ashraf shares her favourite quick snack and why this recipe is important to her culture.
by Usma Ashraf
This recipe is mine, but everyone has their own technique. Growing up in an Asian household, measurements when cooking were never a thing. You would always be told to guess with your eye. It would be frustrating not knowing the exact amount but with practice you end up adjusting the taste and measurements to your liking. Some people feel adding the salt at the end stops the mixture from turning out too soft and others prefer not to put an egg in. The good thing with this recipe is that you can fry a small amount, check the taste and add any more spices to the mixture accordingly. So the whole batch is never wasted.
During Ramadan, this recipe is simple and quick as it's all put into one bowl and then fried just before iftar [the meal served after sunset when fasting ends]. It's a common snack to serve when you break your fast, to gift to neighbours or whip up before guests come over to visit. Like many others, my family and I always make a pact to avoid fried food during the month of Ramadan. But in the end we give in due to the convenience and cravings of comfort food after a long day of fasting.
Recipe
This will serve two people – depending on how many you like to eat. There are many variations to this recipe and everyone has their own touch they add to make their pakoras taste good.
Ingredients
160gm of gram flour
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of garam masala
½ tsp of cumin seeds
½ tsp of dry and/or chopped fresh coriander
1 large potato
3 tbsp of fresh or frozen peas
1 medium onion
50ml of water
1 egg
Sunflower oil to deep fry
Read more: Like My Grandmother Used to Make: Borscht
Directions
Chop potatoes and onions into small pieces.I prefer cubed but some prefer julienne. Combine these two ingredients with the peas and mix.
(You can also try adding chopped cauliflower or aubergine at this stage if you like.)
Place the gram flour in a bowl, then add in your vegetables, all the spices and then your coriander.
Add in your egg and mix thoroughly with a spoon or your hands.
Add small amounts of water initially. If the mixture is too thick, add in more water, but be careful not to make the mixture watery.
Heat the oil in a pan.
Make small balls of the veggie mixture with two tablespoons and gently drop them into your hot oil.
When they look lightly golden, take them out.
Best served with raita or plain yoghurt.