Paneer and Green Chutney Pakoras and Parsi Pakoras,
served with Tamarind-Date Chutney
According to Wikipedia, my trusted source for all things factual, comfort foods are remarkably easy to categorize. While a few things like the question of nature vs. nurture continue to confound the experts (as in, are we born with a taste for these foods or do we develop them through exposure?), their basic characteristics are hard to dispute: they’re nearly always high-calorie, high-carb treats that deliver an opiate-like feeling of fulfilment, and they’re more often than not things we’ve been eating for many, many years. My own list of comfort foods is probably not that different from your average urban American of similar age (containing the expected brownies and cookies and pie as well as a few Mexican and Italian favorites thrown in for good measure), but one item stands out for never having made it onto my plate until I was well past those comfort-food formative years. I don’t know whether it’s a preference left over from a past life or simply an anomaly in my brain-to-palate wiring, but however you explain it, no top-ten list of my favorites would be complete without those marvellously crunchy, spicy, addictive gobs of pleasure from India called pakoras.
I actually can’t remember the first time I tasted pakoras, but chances are high that they were quite literally my first taste of Indian food, since try as I might I can’t remember an Indian meal that didn’t start out with a plate of them, piping hot from the fryer. Pakoras (also known sometimes as bhajis, particularly in the U.K.) are found in many forms throughout India, and can be as simple as a piece of vegetable, fish, meat or cheese dipped in a thin chickpea batter and fried, or can be elaborate affairs of assorted vegetables, fresh herbs and spices. Although I most certainly wouldn’t turn down any kind of pakora, the latter are unquestionably my favorite since they take so well to a bit of tinkering and improvisation. And what’s most amazing is that in all honestly, despite the fact that I’ve had my share of bad-to-mediocre Indian meals, I can’t remember ever tasting a bad pakora.
My favorite story concerning pakoras, however, is one that I was only peripherally involved in myself. It took place about ten years ago, when my roommate and I decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner in our small apartment in New Orleans. We were feeling sorry for ourselves since most of our friends had flown home for the holiday while we could not, and not wanting to celebrate alone we decided to throw a Thanksgiving party and invite every poor soul we could find on campus who didn’t have anywhere else to go. I made some pies, a few side dishes, and a quadruple batch of my favorite pakoras; word spread, friends brought friends, and soon there were dozens of people and piles of food packed into our tiny living room. Not long after the party started a friend of ours showed up with a stranger in tow. He was a first-year student from India she apparently knew from one of her classes, and she had run into him on her way to our place. It only took one look at him to realize something was wrong, however; he was pale and edgy, said hardly anything and conspicuously avoided eye contact when we were introduced. I raised an eyebrow to the friend, who pulled me aside as soon as we had rejoined the party. "I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do with him. I found him on campus wandering around like a zombie, saying he had just been mugged at gunpoint. He’s spoken to the police, but I think he’s still in shock."
Muggings like this were unfortunately far from rare occurances in New Orleans, but although reports of them were everywhere, this was my first time dealing with a recent victim of one. I looked helplessly at the poor guy, standing awkwardly in a corner of the room, when an idea came to me. I went to the buffet table, unearthed my bowl of pakoras and beckoned him over. I handed him one and said "maybe you know what these are?" His eyes grew wide as he took it. "Are these… pakoras?" he asked. I nodded and waited for him to try it, wondering if it would bear any resemblance to what he might have eaten in India. He tentatively took a bite, and then looked at me in amazement. "They taste exactly like at home!" He quickly wolfed down the remainder and eyed the bowl with glazed eyes. I smiled with relief and pushed it towards him, telling him to eat as many as he could fit in, before leaving him to tend to my pies. When I re-emerged from the kitchen, not only was the bowl of pakoras nearly empty, but our Indian guest was laughing and re-enacting his mugging in front of an enthralled audience.
I can’t say for sure whether the pakoras had anything to do with his miraculous recovery, but I imagine that if someone offered me a bowl of good old macaroni and cheese after a traumatic experience in a foreign country I would certainly feel a lot better. Of course, if there were pakoras around too, I just might opt for those instead.
Parsi Pakoras
A specialty of the Parsi community in India, this recent discovery of mine has become one of my favorite pakoras. I love their perfect ratio of crunchy to soft, their complex flavors and hint of sweetness from both the bananas and caramelized onions. They’re perfect with just about any kind of chutney.
Source: Adapted from Atul Kochar’s Simple Indian
2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
vegetable oil, to deep fry
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 green chilies, stems removed
small handful cilantro/coriander leaves
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 dried small red chili, or 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon salt, divided, plus more for boiling potatoes
2 very ripe bananas, peeled
2/3 cup (160ml) water
1 1/2 cups (150g) gram (chickpea) flour
2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate (available at many Indian stores and supermarkets)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Par-boil the potatoes in salted water for 5-7 minutes, then drain and cool. When cool enough to handle, grate coarsely. Heat the vegetable oil to 350F/175C in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and deep fry the sliced onion until golden brown and caramelized. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Take the oil off the heat and reserve to fry the pakoras.
Put the green chilies, coriander, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender or mini processor and blend to a rough paste. Mash the bananas in a medium bowl, stir in the grated potatoes, onion, and spice paste. In a separate bowl mix together the water, chickpea flour, tamarind, baking soda, turmeric and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth. Combine with the vegetable mixture and stir just until combined.
Reheat the oil to 375F/190C. Deep-fry tablespoonfuls of the batter until brown, about 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Paneer and Green Chutney Pakoras
I’ve been making this fantastic recipe for several years, and use it when I want a rich, sophisticated pakora. It represents the perfect marriage of piquant and creamy, and an additional bonus is that if you make the full recipe for green chutney you’ll undoubtedly have some left over for dipping or any other purpose. As for the paneer cheese, you can make your own
or take the fast route and buy a block in Indian stores and many supermarkets.
Source: Adapted from Neelam Batra’s 1,000 Indian Recipes
For green chutney:
2-5 fresh green chilies, stemmed
8 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 cup (250ml) fresh mint leaves, packed
2-3 cups (500-750ml) fresh cilantro/coriander (about 1 large bunch), including soft stems
3-4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For pakoras:
8 oz (225g) paneer cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon chaat masala
3/4 cup (75g) chickpea flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup (80ml) water
vegetable oil, for frying
For the chutney, blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until pureed. Combine the paneer, chaat masala and 1/2 cup (125ml) of the chutney (save the rest for dipping) and set aside to marinate for 1-2 hours at room temperature. Mix the remaining ingredients for the batter in a separate bowl until smooth, and stir into cheese mixture. If the mixture is too thick, stir in a couple more tablespoons water – it should be thick enough to hold its shape but not dry.
Heat the oil to 375F/190C. With wet hands, form balls of the mixture and deep fry until golden brown. Serve immediately.
Tamarind-Date Chutney
This might just be my favorite chutney, with its perfect balance of sweet, salty and sour and its unbelievable ease of preparation. In all honesty, though, I should admit that I rarely measure the ingredients, instead tasting my way to the perfect balance of flavors, so feel free to adjust the quantities here. Also, I’ve made it with and without dates; if you choose not to use them just add a little extra sugar to compensate.
8-10 large dates (such as medjool), pits removed
3/4 cup (packed) jaggery (Indian unrefined sugar) or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (325ml) water
4 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or paste (available at Indian stores and many supermarkets), or to taste
1/4 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground garam masala
pinch black salt (optional, available at Indian stores)
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Place the sugar, dates and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 7-8 minutes, until the dates are very soft. Stir in the tamarind. Very carefully, pour the ingredients into a blender, clamp the lid down tight and blend until smooth (or blend in the pot with an immersion/stick blender).
Return the mixture to the pot and boil until thick enough to thinly coat the back of a spoon (the chutney will thicken more as it cools). Stir in the spices and salt. Taste for seasoning: the chutney should be equal parts sweet, salty and sour. Add more tamarind, sugar or salt if any of these needs a boost. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
The Traveler's Lunchbox 
That post was just what I needed today. (Well, that and maybe some Indian food.) Thanks.
Those pakoras look yum. Poor guy! Pakoras can transform your mood- they are so comforting! This will be perfect for the fall weather. Definitely going to try these!
lovely post, as always. def. looking forward to try these sometime soon.
The pakoras look delicious, perfect for this time of the year.
wow! blast from the past!! i love pakoras. after-school snack made by grandma! our pakoras are rather simple. besan + hing + salt + red chilli powder for the batter. my favourite is onion pakoras. like an indian version of onion rings. equally great is chilli pakoras. its..hmm..i dont know..a not-too-hot chilli. it’s like a neon green and rather large. any idea what its called? potato pakoras are ok, but the potato can be a little crispy and raw. the dipping sauce will usually be mint-cilantro-green chilli chutney…has a little tamarind in it. the baking soda adds a little puffiness and crispness. my grandmother was against it, but always added a pinch when we had guests..because..well..it was impressive and guests MUST be conque..err..i mean impressed with food!
Holy Cow… I just can’t stop looking at that photo. I try to start reading the wonderful story and recipe, but my eyes just can’t tear themselves away. They look amazing!-L
Never heard of this until today, they look wonderful!
Oh no! I’ve never tried them! Just think of all this time I’ve been missing out. I think I’ll have to make a batch right away. 🙂
Melissa, this is such a cool story! I could literally see this "guy" eat the pankoras down just as you described the details of the evening. Vivid! As if I had been there. And I think i would have kept hom company to help him eat them!
oooh that photo looks delicious! I wish I could grab and eat off my screen. I’m wondering if there’s any way of possibly baking these though, to make a low fat version.
Another delightful story, Melissa! I am always so enthralled by your writing – the way you weave food into seemingly obscure ramblings is amazing. And yes, I so agree with you how food can be therapeutic 🙂
Great story & picture! I first tasted pakoras in Edinburgh, and have made them few times myself. My recipe for onion bhahjis is much simpler, obviously, so I should really ‘upgrade’ and try one of yours now..
I should learn not to read your website when I am hungry. Now all I can think about is pakoras. Arm num num!!
I think it may have been almost worth it, getting mugged, if a bowl of pakoras was around. You´d never have let him eat the whole bowl, otherwise. Well, I wouldn´t, they sound so so good.
Hi Melissa,I love Indian food,but in England you end up eating the same 3 or 4 dishes, so I have never heard of them. And since I’ve just been on a very short visit and stock up on spices and herbs I cannot find in Italy, I’ll definetley try them!
Pakoras are definetely a comfort food for me, the ones I make most often are with onions, potatoes come a close second. I’ve not tried parsi pakoras, they do look delicious and crunchy.I thought it was a very sweet story, I think you’re pakoras may have played in a role in settling his nerves, can never underestimate the power of food!
I love pakoras…and yours look luscious! That is a really lovely, evocative photo – I can almost feel the Indian heat!
I love pakora, but have never made them. I’m delighted to have these recipes to try. I sometimes make some sort-of-samosas, based on a recipe from S. Suvir’s Indian Home Cooking. As those can be mostly assembled ahead of time, I think it might be fun to make both for a snacking supper to have watching a movie.I might have to serve them with a roll of paper towels for each person, though.
And as we speak, maybe a misty-eyed Indian guy is thinking about the kind girl who boosted his morale with a taste from home when he most needed it… That’s a true Madeleine, by my definition! Thank you, Melissa!
I can just imagine how delicious they must be, warm and newly made.
very interesting….especially the paneer pakoras. if only my mother didn’t forbid deep-frying in this house because of the smell. Oh well, back to my cooking partner. He’ll be back from Italy in 3 weeks, and then we’ll be cooking again. I’ll see about this one….
What a stunning post and photos as usual, Melissa.Oh, and congratulations on the print of your story on the Food and Travel magazine. I’ll be looking out for a copy here in Jersey. We get UK publications.
The pakoda’s look grrreat! I am so craving some now with studying for exams inside and cold weather outside. I will make them soon. Thanks Melissa.
This sounds like perfect comfort food to me. Boy, if it can cheer up someone that just had been mugged at gunpoint, i think it would certainly work on the stressed student i am at the moment!!!PS i can’t wait to get the F&T. Asked my boyfriend who lives in the UK to buy me a copy.-fanny
Just bought F&T and read – nay devoured – your article and the photos. Kudos to Manuel for them! It was also nice to put a face on your name in the magazine credits.
I adore pakoras, and since they are usually made with chickpea flour rather than wheat flour, they are one of the few fried foods I can still eat. The best pakora’s I’ve had so far were portabello mushroom… Mmmm. My mouth waters at the thought.
Oddly enough, I’d never heard of pakoras until now, though I’ve been to my share of Indian restaurants and have read some Indian cookbooks. I’m sure I’d love them, too, since they remind me a lot of one of my most treasured foodstuffs; falafels. I’ll definitely be trying these out. Thanks for expnading my culinary horizons. :)Cheers,Meg
Hi, Melissa. The only way I can think to improve your gorgeous blog – warning, this will require even more work on your part – is if you could post photos of various stages of cooking. The photo you run with each post is so beautiful and so highly stylized. But in reading your entries, I also crave images of how some foods look at certain stages. Just a thought.
Would love to try some of these sometime! Thanks for another wonderful post. Happy Halloween!
hi melissa, just looking at your pile of perfectly plump pakoras is opiate enough for me…that having been said, what i would do to taste one! i would love to put together one of the more elaborate dinner menus from atul kochar’s book – i’ve never seen indian food given such an elegant treatment; isn’t he brilliant? – and thanks to this fantastic post, the parsi pakoras are now right up there on my hit list!
hi there! Great work on your blog. I added your blog as a link on mine. Hope you dun mind. shaz, a fellow foodie blogger.
Here i was, innocently prowling around for recipes to absorb my children’s mountain of Halloween candy, when I got totally sidetracked. Pakoras here I come! (don’t reckon they’d survive the addition of some chopped up Snicker’s bars…Nahhhh.)
A Great Post for a rainy day here. BTW: U are linked!
Melissa:I thought, from the headline, that you were praising this pakora (http://mattpokora.artistes.universalmusic.fr/) and not the edible kind. You rock (or in the case of shaping the edible pakoras)…you roll.
Mel – I’m sorry to say that I don’t think these would take too well to baking. The batter is just too soft, and they wouldn’t be able to hold any shape in the oven. There are some Indian spiced chickpea-flour pancakes, however, which can be cooked in a nonstick skillet – here’s a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/chickpeaflourpancake_5094.shtmlXimena – It was just a good thing there was so much other food around, it being Thanksgiving and all. Otherwise, who knows?Lindy – I have been known to eat nothing but pakoras for dinner, as a matter of fact! I usually end up regretting it, though, as all that chickpea flour and oil gives the digestion a real workout, if you catch my drift…Sally – I’ve thought of that myself but so far have never managed to do anything about it. Of course it doesn’t help that my kitchen is cramped and windowless, and I make a point of NOT taking the camera inside for fear of dropping it into a pot of bubbling oil… But I’ll see what I can do – of course suggestions are appreciated!David – You really have a one-track mind, don’t you! I won’t ask how you made the leap from deep-fried balls of chickpea batter to scantily-clad French hip-hop singer…
Hi. I had pakoras many years ago and always wondered how I could make my own. Thanks for posting the recipe.
I really enjoy pakoras. After stumbleing upon your great recipes I will have a go at making my own.thanks
Very interesting thought on Pakora being a comfort food. Your pakora recipe also seems quite good. For comparison, my favorite Pyaz Pakora recipe is at http://www.food-india.com/recipe/R076_R100/R077.htm
Stumbled on your site and loved the parsi pakoda recipe and the accompanying story! Will try this out for sure in my kitchen.
crunchy, delicious, savory, ethnic: all in one bite!!!
Thanks for this recipe. I made the Parsi pakoras today and they were delicious. The taste is a bit sweet and spicy (but not too much, partly because I only used 1 green pepper) and the inside of the pakoras is nice and moist. They do not seem very fat, no greasy taste at all. I am very happy with this recipe and will add it to my 'regulars'.