Sunday, November 02, 2008

Methi peanut pakoda

The British love their onion bhajis. This I know because of the number of times that I’ve made bhajis, on specific request, as a starter every time we’ve had friends around for a home-cooked “authentic Indian” (meal, naturally).

This time I decided to vary it just a bit with fresh methi and peanuts, hoping that they wouldn’t be rejected as “not proper bhajis” - and what do you know, the pakodas were such a big hit that the consensus was that I should “always do it this way”. Huh. So much for onion bhaji love – a love about as lasting and sincere as the tears raised by the fumes from the onions! *grin*

I have to say that the bhajis really were exceptional, though – the slight bitterness of the methi, the crunch of the peanuts and the sweetness from the onions… I guess I should not have been surprised that loyalties were transferred from the plain onion bhajis to these!

Recipe for:
Methi peanut pakoda


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Ingredients:

2 cups fresh methi leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 cup raw red-skinned peanuts
2 medium onions, sliced thin
2 medium potatoes, sliced into thin sticks
3 tbsp rice flour
1 cup besan (gram flour/chickpea flour/kadala maavu) + more as required
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
2 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry
A few tbsp water

Method:

1. Put the vegetables and peanuts into a large bowl and mix well.

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2. In another bowl, mix the flours, spices and salt together.

3. Heat enough oil in a kadai or deep fryer. Meanwhile, add the vegetables to the flour and mix together with 3-4 tbsp water. Adjust the gramflour/water combination until the vegetables are just held together with the batter.

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It should not be too thick or too watery.

4. Pinch off small pieces of the dough and put in the hot oil a few at a time, taking care not to crowd the surface.

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5. Fry on medium high heat, turning the pakodas with a slotted spoon, until they are crisp and golden brown.

6. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with any chutney.