It rained in Delhi a few days back and the winter season got a good boost........otherwise it was looking like we will not be able to see nay winter this year .......
All our memories of a happy rainy days are soaked with pakode and chai and if it's a winter rain you can't stop yourself from indulging......your masala chai needs an appropriate companion and you are bent over avoiding fried stuff.........
Not to worry ....think smart.....you'll get the dose of great veggies with some protien and very little fat .... good fat if you are using mustard oil..( unfortunately this indigenous oil is ignored for it's omega 3s content and the olive oil has become fashionable) ....
Believe me if i say you will eat the pakode in 1 tbsp of oil ( serving 2 for tea) ....
........at this juncture i want to tell about a friend of Arvind who used to frequent our place with his wife in the evenings ......... knowing that this guy loves pakode i tried making different kind of pakode for him every time.....mostly this kind of low oil ones.........he used to say that he loved the pakode or samose which were filled with oil ( the ones where the oil gets soaked inside accidentally ) and used to look for them in the plate...he never found one on my plate of pakode........ha ha....
........his wife used to tell me ..
.apke pakode kha ke bilkul heavy nahi lagta....waise to hame flatulence hota hai pakode kha ke..... i never told them it was the oil..
........now when both of us got transferred to different places he remembers my pakode every time he talks to Arvind over phone........he he..
ingredients... vegetables of your choice cut into small pieces ( i used a cup of cauliflower florets and 3/4 cup of green parts of spring onions ... only half of the batter got used for making the pakode seen in picture, other half of the batter was used the next day)
ajwain ( omum ) seeds 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
green chillies 3 , ginger 1/2 inch and 3 cloves of garlic made into a paste.
salt to taste
besan or chickpea flour 2 heaped tbs or a bit more , just enough to coat the veggies
mustard oil 1 tbsp for one batch ( this quantity makes two batches)
procedure... mix all the ingredients , except the oil to make a batter like this........
now heat a thick base kadai ( i used my wrought iron one which behaves like nonstick ) or a nonstick one..and pour 3/4 tbsp of oil and coat the kadai ....
spread half of the mixture in the kadai and let it cook on low heat till you make your tea....i made masala chai with it.........
drop 1/4 tbsp of the oil on top of this and flip over the mix....when you see it has browned on the cooked side......
it breaks into pieces when you flip this ....let it be like this...and if it does not break it means you added extra besan .....which makes the pakode less crisp .....let it break happily and cook till your masala chai is ready and it gets browned on the other side too....repeat with the next batch if you need...or use the mixture next day.......
Serve immediately with tea and see how yummy it is.......the cauliflowers will be nice and crunchy and the spring onions will be wilted and yet very fresh n flavorful.........use vggies taking care their texture .......spinach with all it's stalks or roughly chopped cabbage comes out really well too...
sometimes i make this pakode with soaked and ground paste of chana daal and that is very tasty too.......
It rained in Delhi a few days back and the winter season got a good boost........otherwise it was looking like we will not be able to see nay winter this year .......
All our memories of a happy rainy days are soaked with pakode and chai and if it's a winter rain you can't stop yourself from indulging......your masala chai needs an appropriate companion and you are bent over avoiding fried stuff.........
Not to worry ....think smart.....you'll get the dose of great veggies with some protien and very little fat .... good fat if you are using mustard oil..( unfortunately this indigenous oil is ignored for it's omega 3s content and the olive oil has become fashionable) ....
Believe me if i say you will eat the pakode in 1 tbsp of oil ( serving 2 for tea) ....
........at this juncture i want to tell about a friend of Arvind who used to frequent our place with his wife in the evenings ......... knowing that this guy loves pakode i tried making different kind of pakode for him every time.....mostly this kind of low oil ones.........he used to say that he loved the pakode or samose which were filled with oil ( the ones where the oil gets soaked inside accidentally ) and used to look for them in the plate...he never found one on my plate of pakode........ha ha....
........his wife used to tell me .. .apke pakode kha ke bilkul heavy nahi lagta....waise to hame flatulence hota hai pakode kha ke..... i never told them it was the oil..
........now when both of us got transferred to different places he remembers my pakode every time he talks to Arvind over phone........he he..
ingredients...
vegetables of your choice cut into small pieces ( i used a cup of cauliflower florets and 3/4 cup of green parts of spring onions ... only half of the batter got used for making the pakode seen in picture, other half of the batter was used the next day)
ajwain ( omum ) seeds 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
green chillies 3 , ginger 1/2 inch and 3 cloves of garlic made into a paste.
salt to taste
besan or chickpea flour 2 heaped tbs or a bit more , just enough to coat the veggies
mustard oil 1 tbsp for one batch ( this quantity makes two batches)
procedure...
mix all the ingredients , except the oil to make a batter like this........
now heat a thick base kadai ( i used my wrought iron one which behaves like nonstick ) or a nonstick one..and pour 3/4 tbsp of oil and coat the kadai ....
spread half of the mixture in the kadai and let it cook on low heat till you make your tea....i made masala chai with it.........
drop 1/4 tbsp of the oil on top of this and flip over the mix....when you see it has browned on the cooked side......
it breaks into pieces when you flip this ....let it be like this...and if it does not break it means you added extra besan .....which makes the pakode less crisp .....let it break happily and cook till your masala chai is ready and it gets browned on the other side too....repeat with the next batch if you need...or use the mixture next day.......
Serve immediately with tea and see how yummy it is.......the cauliflowers will be nice and crunchy and the spring onions will be wilted and yet very fresh n flavorful.........use vggies taking care their texture .......spinach with all it's stalks or roughly chopped cabbage comes out really well too...
sometimes i make this pakode with soaked and ground paste of chana daal and that is very tasty too.......