Oh! Who can resist these? Definitely not me. I find
it very hard to restrain myself from snacking on these crispy mouthwatering tidbits!
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| A variety of pakoras: Onion, cauliflower and capsicum. |
Pakoras or pakodi's, as these are commonly referred
to, are one of the famous street snacks of India. These finger foods are tasty
and easy to make, which attributes to their popularity.Basically these are made with gram flour (chick pea
flour), wherein a thick batter is made by mixing gramflour, water, salt and
chilli powder. Sometimes, ajwain (carom seeds) is added to this batter, to ward
off acidity.
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| Corn pakoras |
Varied vegetables are dipped in this batter and
deep fried in oil to make crispy pakoras. Some of the vegetables most commonly
used to make these fritters are: Onion, cauliflower, capsicum, spinach and
corn. Sometimes pieces of paneer (cottage cheese) are also used to make these
crispy nibbles. Of these, onion pakoras are the most popular. I prefer the cauliflower version.
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| Paneer (cottage cheese) pakoras |
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| Palak (spinach) pakodi's |
It is interesting to know that in Japan, they have
a similar dish with some variations called tempura.
Pakoras are indeed a perfect tea time snack, especially in the monsoon and winter season coupled with a cup of hot chai (tea)! Spicier the better!
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| The perfect snack! |
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| More the merrier! |
I was amused and happy to hear that there is a food
joint called 'Pakodi Factory’ in Hyderabad, which serves a variety of pakoras.
And plan to visit it some time soon….
Are you ready for these yummy snacks?
Note: This article was originally posted on my food blog: https://tangyreview.wordpress.com/
