Monday, March 8, 2010

Onion and Capsicum Pakoras


Looking in the kitchen cupboard, I found the half-used besan (chick pea flour) packet lying there. The thought of having pakoras for evening snacks struck my mind.

At times I wonder why foods from different kitchens vary in their taste. Why my macher jhol tastes different from that of my mother’s jhol? My sister cooks such a yummy aloo matar paneer...much better than me. Why everyone likes the taste of the Payesh from my kitchen?

So every kitchen has its own smell and taste. That’s how I feel. But don’t forget the person who brings out the taste from his/her cooking to let you find the dividing line of the different kitchens.

I was in my kitchen getting all the ingredients to make the pakora batter which I’m sharing with you.

2 onions thinly sliced.

1 capsicum cut into small pieces.

3 green chillies finely chopped

2 cups of besan

Pour the besan into a bowl. Add the onion, capsicum and green chillies.

Add 1 ½ tsp of baking powder, salt to taste, ½ tsp haldi powder (for colour), ½ tsp red chilli powder into the bowl with the other ingredients. Give it a thorough mix and then slowly add water to make a batter. The consistency of the batter is very important for the pakoras... not a very thin or a very thick batter.

When the batter is ready, time to heat oil in a wok for deep frying.

Drop the batter into the hot oil...the hand does the work to give the uneven shape and size to the pakoras which are deep fried and later placed on the kitchen tissue to drain the excess oil. Fry in batches.

Serve with sweet tamarind chutney or green chutney or tomato sauce and chilli sauce if someone wants it more hot and spicy.

Don’t forget to serve hot tea with the pakoras.

18 comments:

  1. Awesome! Nice and crispy these look like melt in the mouth kinds

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  2. Aha .. peyaji dekhe ei bhor shondhebela mon ta chaa chaa kore uthlo Gouridi. Dudin agei peyaji kheyechi ... aaj o khele ettu barabari hoyejabe. :-) Tetul er chatni tao post koro please. :-)

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  3. are na eta je ki fav amar hubby'r weekend e bikele murir sange amon kichu chaii. capsicum ta besh notun rakom.

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  4. hi Gouri,
    I love to read ur intro lines :) they sound so cute ;) the pakodas look perfect for the evening tea-time snack :)
    Enjoy
    C u soon
    TC

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  5. Happy Women's Day!!!!
    Pakoda looks super delicious..perfect snack..

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  6. Fabulous..Loved your idea of adding capsicum..Will try it next time :-)

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  7. Dear Didibhai
    Very nice , a good reminder , let me check if I can get some besan from the bangladeshi shop...Khichudi is ready for diner, but after seeing this pakoda, dont feel like eating the khichuDi ha ha

    I CR park you get Khaera fish...My fish vendor sumanta has changed his mobile No. I shall get it from my wife...and you can find out when the supply comes.


    ushnish

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  8. Pakoras look delicious ,lovely on acold winters day with acup of tea.

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  9. Nostalgia, thanks for being here with your comment.

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  10. Sharmila, jodiba aami bohubar tetuler chatni kori photo tulte bhule jai. Ebar chobi neyar por post korbo.

    Tumi je peyagi bolcho, setato Cuttack (Orissa) sahare khoob e famous. Aami choto belai cuttack e jakhon thaktam, Capital talkies e ekta famous peyajir dokan chilo. Jani na ekhon ache kina. Daroon banato. Peyagi ta khesari dal diye hoyae. Khoob piyaj lage. Taar sathe je chatnita dito bhulte parina.

    Love,
    Gouri

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  11. Sayantani, eta murir sathe khoob bhalo lage aar beshi bhalo jodi beshi lokjon thake. Capsicum diye try koro.

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  12. Suparna, so nice to know you liked the intro lines. On holidays these snacks make the evening tea-time more enjoyable.

    ...and keep smiling...

    Gouri

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  13. Sarah, belated Happy Women's Day! Nice to see you here. Thanks for the appreciation.

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  14. Hi Gulmohar,
    Try with capsicum, surely you'll enjoy the taste. Thanks dear for being here.

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  15. Ushnishda, khichudir sathe pakora daroon bhalo lage. Jekono bhaja khichudir sathe darkar, garom garom ilish mach bhaja, aahhh!!! heavenly. Dimer onlett o cholbe. Noy ki???

    Thanks for your concern.

    ...and keep smiling...

    Gouri

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  16. @simply.food, thanks for your presence on this spot with your nice comment.
    Pokoras, a winter-day snacky delight ha ha ha...

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