From my Kitchen

From My Kitchen Diary

 It has been quite sometime  that nothing has  appeared from My Kitchen Diary.  Some friends  have specifically  asked for  recipes   for making Pakoras . Many people complain that the Pakoras  they make are not crisp. If  you want really   crisp Pakoras , you have to follow the method given below.

   Pakoras are normally taken in the evening with tea.  But just as  any  time is  tea time, similarly any time is Pakora time. To make tasty and crisp  pakoras we need;-

  1.Besan(Gram flour)  1/2 cup

  2.Maida(refined flour ) 1 cup

  3. Pumpkin  ½ kg.  Sliced into square  shape

  4. Salt    As per taste

  5.Chaat Masala  1 tsp

  6  Jeera       I pinch

  7. Coriander leaves  two twigs

  8. Baking powder   ½ tsp

  9 Oil for frying.

Method ;-

  In a bowl mix besan  and maida,  and add the baking powder.Pour water and mix very well.Ensure that no lumps are  formed.  The batter should be of the consistency of a dosai. Add jeera,coriander leaves, salt and chaat masala.In the end  dip the pumpkin slices( few at a time).  In the meantime keep the  oil on the gas and allow it to become hot. When the  oil  is hot,  slightly reduce the heat and fry  the pumpkin slices one by one  till they  are  brown . Remove from the fire very carefully  so that  the oil  is drained out.  Sprinkle chaat masala  over the  pakoras. Serve with mint chutney, tomato chutney or tartar  sauce .

We can make Pakoras with many vegetables.The vegetables commonly used are potatoes, cauliflower,paneer etc. You can prepare pakoras with some lesser known vegetables such as  lotus stem(bhey), spinach leaves, bell peppers  and many more by using your creativity and imagination.  

 Here are some tips for the kitchen

1.  If too much salt is added  by mistake in chicken or  mutton  cut one potato , add it  to  the gravy and boil again for a couple of minutes. Discard the potato.

2.  If we keep a small piece of bread in a jar of cookies  or cake, they will remain fresh  for  quite sometime

3.  When preparing dough for rotis(specially when we are  travelling and carrying food)add some milk. The rotis will remain fresh.

4.  If we want to have crisp potatoes, we can  sprinkle some salt on them before frying.