Cauliflower pakoda

I think Cauliflower is one of the most favorites in every household. Some years back (at least for people in my home town)getting some English vegetable like cauliflower was rare. Also those kind of veggies were more expensive because of transportation. I have never come across a Tamil word for Cauliflower (there will be a Tamil equivalent for most of the words in English), so I guess it is definitely a vegetable of modern days:) Thanks to the globalization in everything we get what we desire. While growing up, Cauliflower being an apple to our eyes, mom would make only chosen dishes with it. She would make very crispy fries with cauliflowers or put a tiny flower in vegetable briyani...that's it, we all would love whatever she made:). But nowadays I make many dishes with it and it became my regular in this part of globe we live and I love it:) Here is a pakoda / bajji with cauliflower and we had it did with sambar and rice :) 

Cauliflower pakora / bajji.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 1 (300 gm)
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Besan flour (kadalai mavu) - 3/4 cup

rice flour - 2 tbsp
corn starch - 1 tsp  (optional)
salt - to taste
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
hing (asafoetida)- 1/8 tsp
red food color - a pinch (optional but I didn't use)
garam masala - 1 tsp (optional)
oil - to deep fry (200 ml)

Method: 
Wash the cauliflower and break it into medium size florets.
Bring few cups of water to boil with 1 tsp salt and turmeric powder.
Put the cauliflower pieces in boiling water and boil for only one minute.
Switch off, drain water completely. Keep aside.

In a separate bowl mix besan flour, rice flour, corn starch, salt, hing, red chilly powder  with 1/4 cup water to a thick batter. The batter should be thick and should not be runny (otherwise the bajjis will absorb more oil). If there is more water , then add some more rice flour.  Heat oil in a wok. As it gets smoky hot, reduce flame and keep in medium flame. Dip the semi-cooked cauliflower pieces in the batter and put in hot oil.
Flip and fry both sides. Drain oil and take out.

Cauliflower pakoda / bajji is ready!

Serving suggestions: 
Serve hot as snack along with hot coffee or tea during rainy / winter season.
Tomato ketchup / sauce is a nice side dish for this fry.
I usually make them for some weekend lunch along with sambar rice or curd rice.

Mixed vegetable pakoda

Pakoda / pakora / fritters. A pakoda is a deep fried spicy snack.

In Tamilnadu it is common to see the vendors making these crispy pakoras in front of their stalls to attract the crowd in the evening / night. They prepare the pakora's base batter in a big lot and would make various pakoras by dipping and frying the relevant items as per order. There are many variations in making pakora and the dominant ingredient gets the title (mint pakora, tea stall pakora, cashew pakora, onion pakoda etc.,).
Here is a different pakora with mixed vegetables. We can use almost any vegetable here and I am sure deep frying makes it delicious:) If preparing the pakora as tea time snack, I suggest making a little extra, as it makes a wonderful meal with rasam rice for dinner:)

Mixed vegetables I had.

Crispy mixed vegetable pakoda.

Important Ingredients:

Besan flour - 3/4 cup
(Bengal gram flour / kadalai mavu)
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Red onion - 1 (big)
green chilli - 5
ginger - 2 inch
hing - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste
curry leaves- 1 brig
cilantro - 1/4 bunch
mint leaf - a handful
cilantro - a handful
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
oil - to deep fry (250 ml)

Vegetables :

cabbage - 100 gm
carrot - 1
broccoli / cauliflower - 1 cup
potato - 1
French beans - 10
(Vegetables with more water content are not suitable for this recipe).

Method:

Cut the vegetables into thin slices of 2 inch length.
Chop the onion into thin slices.
Finely chop the green chilli, ginger, cilantro and mint leaves.
Mix the chopped veggies with the besan flour and rice flour.Add chilli powder, salt and garam masala powder.
Try to knead the flour without adding water.
Heat 2 tbsp oil and add it to the mixture. This makes the pakoda more crispy. Instead of oil we can add a few drops of water also.
The dough consistency should not be like chapathi dough. It should be like a mixture of moistened flour with veggies.
Heat oil in a kadai. Drop small pieces of mixture in to the hot oil. Reduce heat to medium so that the vegetable gets cooked evenly. Flip and fry to get crispy fritters.
Take them out and place over paper towels to remove excess oil.
Crispy mixed vegetable pakoda is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot as an evening snack or as side dish with any variety-rice.
Goes fine with curd rice , rasam or sambar rice

Pakora / Fritters

I think a pakoda does not need any intro for a typical Indian. But for those who do not know about it... A pakoda is a deep fried fritter made out of besan flour and onion:)
Back in India they sell this crispy pakoras even in small sweet stalls. They make so many varieties of pakoda like cashew pakoda, mint pakoda,Keerai(greens)pakoda,bitter gourd pakoda, onion pakoda and an ordinary pakoda. During winter or rainy seasons ,they place the hot stove in the front portion and fry it as per our order. I am sure nobody can resist buying these tempting hot fritters on their way back home after a busy day:)
Nowadays I make this as a side dish whenever I run out of vegetables.
I am narrating the basic procedure for an 'ordinary pakoda'. You can make innumerable varieties out of it.
Lets beat this chill weather by this hot pakoda:)


Ingredients:
Besan flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Red onion - 1 (big)
green chilli - 3
ginger - 2 inch
salt - to taste
curry leaves- 1 brig
cilantro - 1/4 bunch
mint leaf - a handful
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
curry (garam) masala powder - 1 tsp
oil - to deep fry (250 ml)

Method:
Chop the onion into thin slices.
Finely chop the green chilli, ginger, cilantro and mint leaves.
Mix the chopped veggies with the besan flour and rice flour.Add chilli powder, salt and garam masala powder.
Try to knead the flour without adding water.
Heat 2 tbsp oil and add it to the mixture. (optional). This makes the pakoda more crispy. Instead of oil we can add a few drops of water also.
The dough consistency should not be like chapathi dough. It should be like a mixture of moistened flour with veggies.
Heat oil in a kadai. Drop small pieces of mixture in to the hot oil and fry to get crispy fritters.
Take them out and place over paper towels to remove excess oil.
Crispy pakoda is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot as an evening snack or as side dish with any variety-rice.
Goes fine with curd rice or sambar rice.