Fritters & Pakoras - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Cabbage vadas/ fritters

Posted on February 7, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

I have shared a recipe of the instant cabbage vada that my mother always made. This recipe requires soaking of Toovar/ Arhar Dal/ split pigeon peas and rice. No onions are added, so either Asafoetida or grated ginger is added to enhance the taste. This recipe shared by my friend Usha Tukaram comes in handy on days when one avoids onion and garlic.

Ingredients:

1/3 rd cup split pigeon peas

2/3 cup raw rice

1/4 th of a coconut grated

2 tbsps chilly powder or 8 dry red chillies

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

2 Inch piece of ginger grated

3 large fistfuls of chopped cabbage

Salt

Oil for frying the vadas

Method:

Soak the rice and Toovar dal for three hours. Drain and keep aside. Grind the coconut, chilly powder, and tamarind to a smooth paste. Tip in the rice and dal mixture and grind to a semolina like consistency adding little or no water. Remove and tip it into a bowl. In the meantime heat oil in a pan . Now add the grated ginger, salt and finely chopped curry leaves to the ground batter. Mix thoroughly and start frying immediately as it oozes water if it’s allowed to rest. Fry to a golden brown on a medium flame. Drain and serve either as a snack or with a meal.

This proportion makes 25 vadas.

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Babycorn fritters-3

Posted on February 4, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is the third variety of Babycorn fritters that I am posting in my website. A traditional Konkani masala used to coat them. Babycorn has only been recently included in the Konkani cuisine. This recipe was shared by my friend Pushpalata Pai. These fritters double up as a snack as well as an accompaniment to a meal. Usually rice is soaked and ground fine, but when in a hurry you may use rice flour. Just grind it with a little water, chilly powder and cumin seeds, but the way it is traditionally made is hands down a winner.

Ingredients:

15 tender Babycorn slit lengthwise into two

1/2 cup raw rice soaked for an hour

4 Byadgi chillies ( they add colour)

4 Guntur chillies ( they add spice)

1 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds

Chickpea sized piece of Hing/ asafoetida

Salt

Oil for frying

Drain the soaked rice. Tip it into a mixer jar with the Byadgi and Guntur chillies, Jeera, Hing and salt. Grind to a fine paste with a little water . Drop the batter into a bowl. Add the Babycorn. Mix gently and keep aside for about fifteen minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the Babycorn about 6 -7 at a time and fry till they are golden orange and crisp. Serve hot.

This proportion makes 30 fritters.

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Okra fritters

Posted on February 2, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

Left with a batch of not so tender okra? No worries. Here are some delicious Okra fritters that can be served as an accompaniment to a meal , as a snack or as starters. A heartfelt thanks to Gowri Baliga who shared her recipe with me.

Ingredients:

25 Okra ends snipped and slit lengthwise

1 tbsp Chilly powder

1 tsp powdered Hing / asafoetida dissolved in a tbsp of water

Salt

Oil for frying the fritters.

Semolina and rice flour required to coat the Okra. I used roughly about 3 tbsps of rice flour and 2 tbsps of Semolina, but it may vary depending on the amount of water oozed out by the vegetable.

Oil for frying the fritters

Method:

Tip the sliced okra in a bowl. Tip in the Hing water, salt and chilly powder. Mix well and allow to rest for fifteen minutes. Heat oil in a pan. As the oil is heating, drop in the semolina and rice flour over the marinated Okra. Mix well and drop them into the hot oil around ten to fifteen pieces at a time. Fry till they turn golden brown and crisp on a medium flame. Drain and serve hot crispy Okra fritters.

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Vegetable cutlets

Posted on February 2, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

These vegetable cutlets will have your kids asking for more. Serve it as is or with a tomato ketchup, they will munch on it to their heart’s content. You can use vegetables of your choice but I am posting the recipe that I followed of Arathi Pai my friend. The only change I made is of boiling the Beetroot too along with the potatoes and tempered the mixture with Cumin seeds.

Ingredients:

2 carrots

1/4 cup green peas

A handful of French beans

4 potatoes peeled

2 Beetroots peeled

3 green chillies

1 inch piece of Cinnamon

2 Inch piece of ginger

5 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1 onion

1/4 tsp each of Coriander, turmeric, chilly and dry mango powders

A pinch of Garam masala

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp each of finely chopped mint and coriander leaves

Salt

Bread crumbs to bind into a dough

Semolina or rice flour to dust the cutlets

Method:

Grind the green chillies , Cinnamon, ginger, garlic, fennel and the onion into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they splutter add the ground paste and roast till the raw smell disappears. Allow to cool. In the mean time pressure cook the carrots, peas, French beans potatoes and beetroot. Strain and keep the water aside. It can be used to make a clear vegetable soup. Mash the boiled vegetables well. Tip in the cooled seasoning into it. Add the garam masala, chilly, turmeric, dry mango and coriander powders, the finely chopped coriander and mint leaves and salt. Mix well. Keep adding bread crumbs till you are able to bind it into a dough. Pinch balls of the dough and flatten them into cutlets. Refrigerate for fifteen minutes. Dust them with either semolina or rice flour. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Deep fry them as I have or shallow fry them on a tava till they turn crisp.

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Mix Dal vada

Posted on February 2, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

A no fail starter when served at get togethers. Hot and crisp mixed Dal vadas when accompanied by some mint chutney or a tomato ketchup are absolutely out of this world. This is a lovely recipe shared by my friend Maya Joshi.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup each of

Urad dal/ split black gram

Moong dal/ split green gram

Chana dal/ split Bengal gram

Masoor dal/ red lentil

7 green chillies

1 tsp pepper corns

7 cloves of garlic

2 sprigs curry leaves finely chopped

3 tbsps of finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt

Oil for frying the vadas

Method:

Wash and soak the Dals for four hours. Drain and grind to a coarse consistency along with the green chillies and garlic adding just a few tbsps of water to facilitate grinding. The batter should be coarse and firm. Crush the pepper corns coarsely and tip them into the batter. Add the finely chopped coriander and curry leaves. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan. Pinch small amounts of the batter and drop them into the hot oil, around five to six at a time. Deep fry on a medium flame to a golden yellow. Drain and serve hot with tomato ketchup and mint chutney.

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Easy Peas Patties

Posted on January 22, 2021January 23, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is an easy to make Pea Patties. Avoids hassles of preparing a separate stuffing and saves time of filling it. Just boil, mash, mix, add spices, roll into desired shapes and fry. Serve hot with a mint chutney or Tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:

100 gms or 1 cup of shelled peas

4 medium sized boiled potatoes peeled and mashed

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

1 cup bread crumbs

5 green chillies

2 inch piece of ginger

5 cloves of garlic

1 tsp Cumin powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/ 2 tsp Chilly powder

Salt

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Oil for frying the Patties.

Method:

Tip the peas in a pan of boiling water and simmer for five minutes. Drain and keep aside. Mash them gently and add them to the potato mash. Grind the green chillies, ginger and garlic coarsely. Tip it into the potato, peas mixture. Also add the salt, finely chopped onion, cumin powder, lemon juice, garam massala, chilly powder and coriander leaves. Drop in the bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. Roll out into desired shape and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the Patties two to three at a time and fry to a golden brown. Drain and serve hot with a mint chutney or Tomato ketchup.

Makes 12 Patties.

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Baby corn fritters-2

Posted on January 1, 2021January 4, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is the second variety of Babycorn fritters that I am posting today. This kind is usually served with a meal, though it can be served as a snack too, accompanied by mayonnaise and tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:

250 gms tender baby corn

3 tbsps All purpose chutney

Rice flour as required to dust the baby corn

Salt

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

Oil for frying.

Recipe link to the All purpose chutney is given below.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/all-purpose-chutney-recipe/

Method:

Wash the baby corn and marinate in the All purpose chutney, salt, lemon juice and pepper powder for two hours in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a pan. Dust the baby corn in the rice flour and fry on a gentle flame till they are crisp and golden. Serve hot.

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Eggplant fritters – 2

Posted on December 8, 2020December 8, 2020 by vinayaprabhu2

These are fritters or Phodi as it is called in my mother tongue Konkani. This particular variety of Eggplant is seasonal and available only in Mattu, a village near Udupi in South Kanara in India. It is called Mattu Goolla and a variety of preparations are made from it, the most popular being fritters or Pakoras. This particular variety is extremely fleshy and has hardly any seeds in it.

Ingredients :

One large Eggplant

Chilly powder, salt and Asafoetida as per requirement

Riceflour

Besan/Chickpea flour

Oil for frying the fritters.

Method:

Slice the Eggplant as shown in the picture. The slices should neither be too thick nor thin. Sprinkle chilly powder, salt and Asafoetida as per requirement and marinate it for about fifteen minutes.

Take rice flour and Besan in the proportion of 2:1. I cannot give you the exact requirement as it depends on the size of the slices. Begin with a small portion. You can always keep mixing. Dust the slices in this rice flour and Besan mixture.

Heat oil in a pan. Dust the slices one last time again in the rice flour-Besan mixture and slide the slice two at a time into the hot oil. Fry on a medium flame till the fritters turn golden. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Serve hot with a meal or as a snack.

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Raw Banana fritters – 2

Posted on November 30, 2020December 6, 2020 by vinayaprabhu2

These raw banana fritters are usually an accompaniment to a meal. Called Phodi in my mother tongue Konkani, these are served with Dal rice and are prepared during a feast or on other ocassions where community feeding takes place.

Ingredients :

2 raw bananas

1 tbsp Chilly powder

1 tsp Hing/Asafoetida

Salt

Wheat flour to dust the Phodi

Oil for frying

Method:

De-skin the raw banana. Wash it thoroughly and slice it 2 cms thick. Sprinkle the chilly powder, salt and Hing, mix well and refrigerate for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan. Dust the slices with wheat flour and fry them on a medium flame till a golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on a kitchen towel. Serve hot.

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Cabbage and onion Pakora

Posted on October 27, 2020 by vinayaprabhu2

These cabbage and onion Pakoras can be made in no time. Serve them as a quick snack with tea or as an accompaniment to Dal and rice. They need no accompaniment like tomato ketchup or mint chutney as they have all the spices added.

Ingredients :

2 large onions sliced thinly

Cabbage the same amount as the onions

1 green chilly finely chopped

150 gms of Besan/Chickpea flour/ 3/4 cup

2 tbsps rice flour

1 tbsp oil

A large pinch of Ajwain /Carom seeds

1/4 tsp Hing/Asafoetida

1 tsp chilly powder

Salt

Oil to fry the Pakora

Method :

Take the Besan, rice flour, chopped green chilly, salt, chilly powder, Hing, ajwain and one tbsp oil in a bowl. Crumble and add just a little water to make a thick paste whisking all the ingredients well. Drop in the sliced onion and cabbage and mix thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan. Take a little of the mixture and keep dropping it all over into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd as the Pakora then doesnt turn crisp. Fry on a medium flame to a nice golden brown. Serve hot.

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