Vegan and Gluten Free Pakoras - cauliflower, red onion, and cilantro are tossed in a chickpea flour batter to make a perfectly spiced and delicious snack!
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour (or besan)
- 1/4 cup corn flour (not corn starch)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt, + more for garnish
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup water
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 cup cauliflower, chopped into very small pieces
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- neutral oil, for frying
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In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, spices, and salt.
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Slowly add water to this flour mix. Start with 1/4 cup and add by tablespoons until you have a thick batter (I tend to use 6 tbsp of water in total, but chickpea flours can vary and that influences how the absorb liquid).
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Mix in the rest of the ingredients, making sure that everything is properly covered.
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Time to fry! Read my notes about deep frying in my blog post, or just do whatever you normally do to deep fry. Essentially, you want to heat a good few inches of a neutral oil (like canola) over medium-high heat in a deep pot.
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Take a spoonful of pakora batter (1 1/2 - 2 tbsp) and drop it into the oil (you might want to use another spoon to help slide it along). The oil should bubble, but not too vigorously. I tend to do 4 pakoras a batch.
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Fry until golden on all sides, making sure to flip the pakoras over to ensure even frying. This will take about 5 minutes.
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Place pakoras on paper towel to help absorb some of that extra oil. Immediately sprinkle with salt - this helps with taste, cause salt, but also apparently helps draw out some of that extra oil.
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Serve immediately with chutney - my favourite is mango chutney!
