Name: Vegetable pakoras
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Yield: 10
Ingredients: For the vegetables:; 1 red pepper, chopped into chunks; 1 courgette, chopped into batons; 1 red onion, chopped into wedges; 200g cauliflower, in florets; For the dip:; 50g fresh coriander, finely chopped; 1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed; 150g 0% fat natural yogurt; For the batter:; 100g gram flour; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 green chilli, finely chopped; half tsp bicarbonate soda; 100ml water; 400ml rapeseed oil

A mild-spiced bitesize selection of tasty veggie pakoras with a fresh, light dip.

Serves

Prep

15 minutes

Cook

15-20 minutes

Nutrition information

Each 105g serving contains (excludes serving suggestion)

KCal: 106
Carbs: 8.9g
Fibre: 2.5g
Protein: 5.1g
Fat: 5.0g
(Medium)
Saturates: 0.4g
(Low)
Sugars: 3.0g
(Low)
Salt: 0.17g
(Low)

What makes a healthy, balanced diet?

Ingredients

For the vegetables:
1 red pepper, chopped into chunks
1 courgette, chopped into batons
1 red onion, chopped into wedges
200g cauliflower, in florets
For the dip:
50g fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
150g 0% fat natural yogurt
For the batter:
100g gram flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 green chilli, finely chopped
half tsp bicarbonate soda
100ml water
400ml rapeseed oil

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Method

Step 1

Prepare all the vegetables. (When preparing the onion, peel and carefully trim only the ends, as leaving the root intact holds the wedges together.)

Step 2

In a dish, stir together all of the ingredients for the dip together and place in the fridge.

Step 3

Mix together the gram flour, all the spices, chilli and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl, and then mix in the water. The batter should be the consistency of thick cream.

Step 4

Heat the oil in a saucepan to 180°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, then test the oil with a small blob of batter. (If the oil is hot enough, the batter should start frying straight away and float to the top.)

Step 5

Add the vegetables to the batter and mix them around so they’re all coated. Pick them out with a spoon and carefully drop into the hot oil – a few at a time. Cook the pakoras for 3–4 minutes.

Step 6

When golden brown, remove the pakoras with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain. Repeat until all of the pakoras are cooked. Serve with the dip.

Recipe tips

Due to the fact that the pakoras are fried, they are meant as an occasional treat.
To make sure that the pakoras are not too fatty, the oil needs to be hot enough – in this case, 180ºC. This way, the cooking time will be less and the vegetables won’t be in the oil for very long. Using a cook’s thermometer is a good way of making sure the oil is at the right temperature.
It’s possible to use a recipe for baked pakoras to reduce the amount of fat, but you need bigger pieces of vegetable chunks and a thicker batter. This way, the pakoras will hold together better.
Make sure you use the right type of oil – and avoid ghee or dripping. Use rapeseed oil, as it’s better for the cooking process and is an unsaturated fat. Olive oil isn’t suited to frying.
You could use most vegetables in this batter – try broccoli, aubergine, carrot sticks, spring onions, asparagus, baby corn or mushrooms.