Pakorat or deep-fried vegetable pancakes

Pakoras are Indian street food at its best. The deep-fried vegetable pies taste heavenly with a piping hot chutney.

Ingredients for four

1 onion 3 medium potatoes 1 handful of green onions; 1 bunch of coriander 1-5 chillies 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 teaspoon ground coriander 2 teaspoons jeera 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (vinaigrette) 1 tsp.1 teaspoon salt 1-4 tablespoons water 100g gram flour (made from chickpeas)in grocery stores) for frying

Peel and dice the onion and potatoes into small cubes. Shred the beans into short pieces. Put the vegetables in a bowl. Chop the chilli and fresh coriander to taste. Grate the ginger and season the vegetables with ground coriander, jeera, salt and turmeric. Stir the mixture.

Sift the gram flour into the pakora mixture and stir it evenly into the vegetables.

Open a large frying pan or wok and heat to about 180°C for deep frying.

Add water to the pakora batter and knead a few times. The idea is to get just enough of the dough that you can take a spoonful and drop it into the bowl. Add water if necessary.

First make a small test sample. The oil is hot enough when the pakora immediately starts to bubble happily and browns quickly.

Fry the pakora in small batches for a couple of minutes per side and lift out onto a paper towel. Enjoy the pakoras immediately after frying, when they are at their crispiest.