Kale pakoras

Ok, its time for some pakoras! These are traditional Indian fritters usually eaten with tea and biscuits in the afternoon. Hot and crispy with a gentle heat- these are great for cold winter evenings. Best eaten when gossiping with friends! The vegetables can be swapped out for pretty much any vegetable you have at home (potatoes, sweet potatoes, aubergine, spinach, cauliflower, courgette- the list goes on). These are gluten free and vegan and yet my meat loving friends can’t get enough of these! 

Ingredients 

150 grams of garbanzo bean flour (also known as gram flour or besan)

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cumin powder

1 ½ tsp coriander powder

1 ½ tsp fennel seeds 

1 ½ tsp mustard seeds 

1 ½ tsp red chilli flakes

½ serrano or bird’s eye pepper chopped

1 red onion sliced thinly

4-5 kale leaves without the stalks and chopped

1 carrot julienne or grated

6-7 springs of fresh coriander chopped

Water (about a cup)

Process

1.       Mix the garbanzo bean flour with all the dry ingredients. 

2.       Add the water to the mix - just enough to make a thick batter – almost the consistency of pancake batter. 

3.       Now add the vegetables and pepper to the batter. Mix well.

4.       In a deep flat bottomed pan, add oil just enough to shallow fry (so just enough to cover about ½ an inch of the bottom of the pan).

5.       Drop a little of the batter to test if the oil is hot enough. If it starts bubbling immediately, the oil is hot enough.

6.       Drop little bits of the batter with the vegetables to the oil. When its dark golden brown on one side, flip it over. Try to make sure you get a bit of all the veggies in each pakora.

7.       Drain on a kitchen towel and serve with coriander or tamarind chutney and hot tea!