Rice Flour And Cashew Pakora Fritters Food

PAKORA (INDIAN VEGETABLE FRITTERS)

Steps:

• Make batter: Place chickpea flour in a bowl with the spices (turmeric, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, chilli). Slow whisk in the water.
• Mix in Vegetables: Add potato, cauliflower, onion, ginger, chilli and coriander. Mix well with a wooden spoon. It should be a thick batter, almost paste-like.
• Preheat oven to 80°C/175°F - to keep cooked pakoras warm. Set a rack over a tray.
• Heat oil: Heat 4cm / 1.5" oil in a large heavy based pot to 180°C/350°F (Note 6).
• Form patties: Drop 2 tbsp of batter roughly formed into a patty shape into the oil. I use my hands (as is typical in India!) but you can also use 2 tablespoons (be careful of splash-age). Don't crowd the pot, it will lower the temperature too much.
• Fry pakoras: Fry 2 - 3 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels. Keep cooked pakoras hot in the oven on a rack set over a tray.
• Serve: Serve pakoras with Coriander Mint Sauce or Minted Yogurt Sauce!

CASHEW PAKORA (CASHEW FRITTERS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients
• Chop onions into thin 2 inch slivers. Any bigger would make the pakoras unwieldy. Chop the chilies, mint and cilantro and curry leaves finely.
• In a bowl, place the chopped ingredients. Top with the flours, and add salt, hing, chili powder, and ghee on top. Add the cashew pieces.
• Mix gently with a fork initially. Sprinkle spoonfuls of water at a time, and with your fingertips, gently mix everything together into a coarse, not too wet mix. This dish does not take too much water. Adding too much water will make it dense instead of flaky, and soak in lots of oil while frying. The consistency should be neither like a dough nor a batter
• While you do all this, pour the oil (roughly 2 inches depth) in a small frying pan and heat it to medium heat
• When the oil is hot, drop small spoonfuls of the dough/batter/pakora mix gently into the oil
• Move the pakoras every couple of minutes so that they cook evenly. They are done when the bubbles in the oil disappear
• Take them out with a slotted wide spoon (we use what is called a jalli karandi in Tamizh - it has holes to drain the oil as you lift them out) and drain on a paper towl
• Make sure you cook on medium heat slowly. If the heat is too low, it will take a long time to cook and become soggy and oily. Too high heat and the outside will turn brown too quickly, leaving the inside un-/undercooked.
• While you make these, have your husband make the coffee or masala chai so they're both ready at the same time :)
• Enjoy with a side of thunderstorm!

RICE FLOUR AND CASHEW PAKORA FRITTERS

Steps:

• 1. In a food processor, process together the ginger, green chili pepper, onion, cilantro, and spinach until minced. Add the cashews and pulse until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Remove to a bowl. Mix in the rice and chickpea flours, salt, and baking soda.2. Heat the oil per directions in INFORMATION AND SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: __Frying Fritters (Pakorae Talna). Carefully, using clean fingers or a spoon, drop 3/4- to 1-inch balls of the mixture into the hot oil and fry as directed. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Then serve on a platter lined with shredded lettuce.VARIATION: Substitute peanuts or almonds for the cashews, or mix different nuts together.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

BASIC BATTER FOR PAKORA FRITTERS

Steps:

• Sift the chick pea flor in to a medium bowl, add salt & baking soda & mix well.
• Add 1/3 cup water to make a smooth batter of medium consistency. If too thin, add more flour; f too thin, mix in some more water.
• Heat deep frying oil to 175 - 185°C.