Do you like breaded veggie bites? Yes, me, too. 🙂 I stumbled across this very simple, spicy breading in an Indian restaurant: I knew at the first taste, that our relationship is going to be a long and prosperous one. You can make pakora of anything, not just veggies – however, cauliflower, broccoli and onion ring pakoras are my favorites.
These freshly fried little bits go well with some chutney. I was thinking something slightly sweet, sour and spicy, and as plums are in season right now, I served them with a spicy plum chutney.
These freshly fried little bits go well with some chutney. I was thinking something slightly sweet, sour and spicy, and as plums are in season right now, I served them with a spicy plum chutney.
We had a delicious Indian meal last year in Szeged: choosing from the menu was not an easy task for me, as they had a great variety of gluten-free dishes, however, most of them were filled with cheese or swimming in cream. So I ended up with a biryani, which is a huge portion of rice with lots of spices and bits of some meat or vegetables. It was indeed delicious, but I had it for another day, too, as the portion was so big, it easily covered my carb intake for at least 1.5 days… Nevermind. Why do I still keep this dinner as a really fond memory? It was the first time I tasted pakora: love at first taste.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
approx. 450g broccoli florets (fresh or frozen will also do)
140g chickpea flour
2 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of curry powder (I used madras curry)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric
a pinch of chili powder
1 tablespoon of coconut or olive oil
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
approx. 150 ml water
coconut oil for frying
140g chickpea flour
2 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of curry powder (I used madras curry)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric
a pinch of chili powder
1 tablespoon of coconut or olive oil
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
approx. 150 ml water
coconut oil for frying
500g plums
1 whole star anise
1-2 pieces of clove
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
an approx. 1×2 cm sized piece of fresh ginger, minced, or 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
3 tablespoon of xylitol (30g)
1/2 teaspoon of stevia powder
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 whole star anise
1-2 pieces of clove
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
an approx. 1×2 cm sized piece of fresh ginger, minced, or 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
3 tablespoon of xylitol (30g)
1/2 teaspoon of stevia powder
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
This amount of ingredients made actually rather 6-8 servings of plum chutney instead of 4, but it’s really handy to work with these quantities, any less would seem like a waste of clean dishes. So I prefer to make more than needed and save the rest: it makes a great sauce to serve with grilled meats or aged cheeses. Moreover, I liked it so much I’m thinking about canning a few bottles and stocking them in my pantry . It would also make a great foodie-gift.
- Steam the broccoli florets for 3-4 minutes, until they get soft but still crunchy enough to be “breadable”.
- Prepare the pakora dough: in a deep bowl, mix chickpea flour with spices, make a small crater in the mixture, and pour in the oil, lemon juice and approx. 2 tablespoons of water. Combine them well by mixing with a spoon or hand whisk, and gradually add the remaining water until you gain a smooth, cream-like textured dough. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to thicken.
- Time to prepare the plum chutney. Wash and pit the plums, then put them in a food processor with the sweeteners, balsamic vinegar and spices: of course you need to grind the whole spices in a mortar first. Blend it well, transfer to a pot and heat until it starts boiling. Reduce the heat and just like cooking jam: mix it every couple of minutes until most of the water is gone and your chutney becomes thick as marmelade. Check the taste while cooking: it should be something sweet, sour and spicy.
- Pour coconut oil, about 0,5 cm/1 inch thick in a small frying pan, heat it reasonably hot, but not smoking hot. Start breading the bigger broccoli florets: roll them in the pakora dough, shake off the excess with a fork and fry all sides until golden colored.
Of course, this would be easier in a deep fryer, but who wants to use so much coconut oil (and color it yellow with turmeric) for one dish..? - A little hint for the frying part: when there are only tiny broccoli florets left, I don’t have the patience to cover them one by one in the dough. So I just put all of them into the bowl, gently cover them with the pakora dough, and put them in the frying pan separately.
That’s it. Preparing this meal definitely seemed a lot faster than taking pictures and writing it all down. 🙂 These delicious little bites make also a great starter or party bites, but we had it for lunch with some brown rice.
This portion of broccoli pakora contains altogether approx. 80g carbs, that makes 20g CH/serving. The plum chutney had altogether approx. 90g carbs, considering 6 servings, that makes 15g CH/serving.
Enjoy!
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