Indian chickpea fritters (pakora)

Today, to celebrate Diwali, the elderly who are welcomed in our Duniya school every Saturday, enjoyed tasty spiced Indian chickpea fritters (pakoras) filled with little cubes of potato, sliced onions, some spinach, and cilantro. Would you like to try making them at home? Will take you half an hour to prepare this tasty vegetarian (vegan) snack. Lightly roasted whole coriander seeds and red chili pepper flakes add just the right amount of spicy heat on this windy autumn Saturday.

Lakhpati Devi, Nagwa Basti, Varanasi | India

WHAT YOU NEED

• 170g potatoes, cut into little cubes

• 1 small onion, sliced

• 1 handful of spinach, roughly chopped

• 1 small handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

• 130g chickpea (gram or besan in Hindi) flour

• 175ml water

• 40g unbleached all-purpose flour or a (gluten free replacement if you prefer)

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1½ tsp salt

• ½ tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp whole coriander seeds

• 2 tsp red chili pepper flakes

• vegetable oil, for frying

WHAT YOU DO

• Heat oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coriander seeds and red chili pepper flakes, stirring until the spices are toasted and fragrant.

• Combine chickpea flour, water, flour, lemon juice, turmeric, cumin, and salt, to make a smooth batter.

• Carefully mix potatoes, onion, spinach, cilantro, and toasted spices into the chickpea batter.

• In a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan, heat 2 ½ cm of frying oil over medium-high heat. Allow plenty of time for the oil to get really hot.

• Use a large tablespoon to drop a loose spoonful of the pakora batter into the frying oil. Don’t compress the batter too much when you scoop it. Fry until deeply golden and crispy, flip and fry the other side as well. Drain cooked pakoras on kitchen towel.

• Serve with the above cilantro sauce, or a chutney from my book Street Food India.

Pakora with Indian spiced tea

Lakhpati Devi