1,000 Indian Recipes (94 page)

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)

1 red bell pepper, minced

¹
⁄
₂
cup large curd cottage cheese

1 small russet (or any) potato, grated

²
⁄
₃
cup chickpea flour, or more as needed

¹
⁄
₄
cup finely chopped scallions, green parts only

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, minced with seeds

1 teaspoon ground coriander

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon salt, or to taste

1
¹
⁄
₂
to 2 cups peanut oil for deep-frying

1.
Prepare the chaat masala. In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients (except the oil and chaat masala) to make a thick, dough-like batter. (If the batter is too soft, add a little more chickpea flour.) Divide into 20 to 25 uneven balls.

2.
Heat the oil as per directions in the box
Frying Fritters (
Pakorae Talna
)
, carefully drop the balls into the hot oil and fry as directed in the box.

3.
Let cool, then press them lightly between the palms of your hands into small discs with ragged edges. Refry them in hot oil until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels, transfer to a platter, sprinkle with the chaat masala, and serve.

Traditional Chicken Pakora Fritters

Murgh kae Pakorae

Makes 10 to 15 pieces

These were one of my favorite treats when I was little. My brother and I loved volunteering to go to the
pakora
stands to buy them for the family—not from the goodness of our hearts or to be of help, but so we could eat some right there as we waited for our order.

If you're convinced you know what fried chicken tastes like, just wait till you try this finger-licking-delicious recipe!

2 tablespoons
Basic Ginger-Garlic Paste
(or store-bought)

1 (2
¹
⁄
₂
- to 3-pound) chicken, skinned and cut into serving pieces (discard the back and wings)

2 cups water

1 teaspoon garam masala

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon salt, or to taste

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)

1 teaspoon dry-roasted and coarsely ground cumin seeds (
Dry-Roasting Spices
)

1 recipe
Basic Batter for Pakora Fritters

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon coarsely ground ajwain seeds

1
¹
⁄
₂
to 2 cups peanut oil for deep-frying

1.
Prepare the ginger-garlic paste. Then place the chicken, water, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is tender and all the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. If the chicken cooks before the water dries up, uncover the pan and cook until the chicken is completely dry. Let cool, remove the bones and cut into smaller pieces, if you wish.

2.
Meanwhile, prepare the chaat masala and the dry-roasted cumin seeds. Then, prepare the basic batter, and mix in the cilantro, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, and ajwain seeds.

3.
Add the chicken to the batter. Heat the oil and fry the chicken as per directions in the box
Frying Fritters (
Pakorae Talna
)
. Transfer to a platter, sprinkle with the roasted cumin and chaat masala.

Marinated Chicken Pakora Fritters

Murgh Pakorae

Makes 20 to 24 pieces

These can be made with any cut of chicken, with or without the bone, but with no skin—drumettes (the drumstick look-alike portion of the wings) and drumsticks are very popular. However, I prefer chicken breast tenders because they are softer, cook faster, and are boneless, which makes them easier to eat.

¹
⁄
₂
small onion, coarsely chopped

4 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

1 large clove garlic, peeled

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, stemmed

¹
⁄
₄
cup nonfat plain yogurt, whisked until smooth

1 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice

1 teaspoon garam masala

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon salt, or to taste

10 to 12 chicken breast tenders, each cut diagonally in half

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)

1 recipe
Basic Batter for Pakora Fritters

1 to 2 tablespoons rice flour

1
¹
⁄
₂
to 2 cups peanut oil for deep frying

1.
In a food processor or a blender, process together the onion, ginger, garlic, and chile peppers until minced. Then add the yogurt, lime juice, oil, garam masala, and salt, and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the chicken and mix until all the pieces are fully coated with the mixture. Cover and marinate at least 4 and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

2.
Prepare the chaat masala and the basic batter. Bring the chicken to room temperature, then mix it into the pakora batter along with the rice flour.

3.
Heat the oil and fry the chicken as per directions in the box
Frying Fritters (
Pakorae Talna
)
. You can fry just once, but for the best flavor and texture, let cool, then refry in hot oil until heated through. Transfer to paper towels again. Sprinkle with the chaat masala and serve.

Ground Meat Pakora Fritters

Keema Pakorae

Makes 20 to 25 pieces

Not to be confused with other meat appetizers like
kabaabs
(roasted or grilled ground meat and other foods) or
koftas
(deep-fried vegetable or meat balls), these are batter-coated deep-fried fritters featuring ground meat. Petite and light, they are perfect finger food—enough to whet your guests' appetites, but not enough to fill them up.

Although ground beef is not common in India, it works really well in these fritters.

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)

3 to 4 slices packaged white or whole-wheat bread (crusts on or not)

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

¹
⁄
₂
cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

4 to 6 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

1 large fresh garlic clove, peeled

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, stemmed

1 pound extra lean ground meat (beef or lamb)

1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves

1 teaspoon garam masala

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 recipe
Basic Batter for Pakora Fritters

2 tablespoons rice flour

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground turmeric

1
¹
⁄
₂
to 2 cups oil for deep-frying

1.
Prepare the chaat masala. Soak the bread in water to cover about 1 minute. Then squeeze out all the water and coarsely crumble the bread.

2.
In a food processor, process together the crumbled bread, onion, cilantro, ginger, garlic, and green chile peppers until minced. Add the ground meat, fenugreek leaves, garam masala, and salt, and process again to mix well. Divide into 20 to 25 portions and shape each one into a 2-inch disc.

3.
Prepare the basic batter and mix in the rice flour and turmeric. Heat the oil as per directions in the box
Frying Fritters (
Pakorae Talna
)
. Dip each disc in the batter to coat well , and fry as explained in the box. Transfer to a platter, sprinkle with the chaat masala, and serve.

Fish Pakora Fritters

Macchi kae Pakorae

Makes 12 to 15 pieces

Use any thick, firm, white fish fillets and cut them into any shapes and sizes, large or small (although I find that the smaller pieces are easier to serve and eat as finger food). The batter for these should be thicker than most
pakora
batters, which is why there's some extra flour.