Crispy Pakoras

Elvira Fernandez

May 21, 2023

In India, the evening tea-time is incomplete without some fried, crispy delicacy and pakoras are the most in demand.

Just today after lunch my mother said, “Elvi, I feel like eating dal pakoras. Let’s make some for tea.”

“Yes mummy, I’ll make them. You soak the dal,” I replied scrolling through my phone.

So, my mother soaked the moong dal, placed the ingredients (a bit of ginger, pepper corns, a green chilli, red chilli powder, salt, and coriander seeds) on a plate in preparation for the evening snacks. After a relaxing siesta I set to work, the mixer whizzed and whirred, the oil in the kadai spluttered and batter sizzled. Finally, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen and golden brown dal pakoras were ready to be relished. A hot, sweet tea in white patterned cups added to the taste and feel of the evening. Wow! What a wholesome snack... fresh, easy and yummy.

As I sat sipping my tea I thought why not make a study on the history and origin of this staple Indian snack. There’s no doubt that these delectable fritters originated in the Indian subcontinent and are consumed as appetizers and snacks for centuries. The pakora industry, I mean the street vendors do a roaring business twelve months a year. Whether it’s shining, raining or snowing you will find the chulah of the bhajjia makers blazing. While smiling and keeping up an animated chatter with their customers and other workers these pot-bellied men turn out huge trays teeming with the heavenly snacks, weigh them, pack them and collect the price for them. These industrious men thrive on the demand for variety in the pakora sector. Hence, the experimentation in this field has led to the different kinds of bhajjias coming to the fore.

I’m sure you all know that gram flour is largely the basic ingredient of any kind of pakoras, what varies are the other elements like – potatoes, onions, green chillies, spinach leaves, bread slices, eggplant, cauliflower, chicken pieces, cottage cheese, etc. It’s an absolute delight to mix a batter of gram flour with different masalas and then pop in a slice of bread, make sure to coat it evenly with the seasoned batter and toss it gently into the hot oil. And, when it begins to turn a golden brown you turn it over and inhale the fragrance of the frying batter. Once it’s done, you add thinly sliced potatoes rings to the same batter and voila... you have potato bhajjias, now add chopped onion and green chillies and you have onion pakoras to relish too. Those who love their spicy bhajjias can make sure to slit a few green chillies, dust their centres with salt and dip them in the magical batter before frying it to perfection. A tamarind chutney or a mint chutney to act as a dip with an assortment of pakoras is just the thing!

I don’t know about you but all this pakora talk has got me thinking of a pakora kadi tonight for dinner. I can already envision pakoras as soft as butter swimming in a dish of the kadi garnished with curry leaves, mustard seeds and red chillies. Dear readers, while you enjoy this write-up, I’m off to get the ingredients together in preparation for this massive feast tonight. By the way, for me kadi goes best with rice. What about you?

Wait a minute before I take your leave... Do you know that earliest variation of pakora appears in both Sanskrit literature and Tamil Sangam literature as long back as 1130CE? And, do you know pakoras, or gram flour fritters are known as pakoda or bhajji in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, in Gujarat as bhajia, in Maharashtra as bhaji, in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as bajji or pakodi?