Pakora Kari

Years ago, when le him and I were getting to know each other:

"So, what's your favorite food?", I asked him.

"I'm not too picky when it comes to food." he said.

"Pher bhee (still) name a few". I insisted.

"Well, I like X Y Z.. and once I was invited to a certain someone's place and his wife had made the most awesomest Pakora kari".

"Hmmm..." I said.

And that was that. :-)

A few months later I decided to make it for him... which din't really turn out the way it was supposed to... so, me made a mental note never to bother making it again.

But then, recently I was out of all ideas as to what to make for dinner and he suggested the dreaded pakora kari. To which I told him I dint know how it's made... he found me a couple of recipes on the net. Looking up the recipes, I realized I din't have a couple of major ingredients... he went out and bought them for me.

Seeing that I still wasn't all fired up... he actually volunteered to make it for me...The thought of him asking me where what is every two seconds, and not find it even after I tell him where it is, and then me going back and forth handing him stuff, giving my opinion if "this is enuff" or if "this lookes okay", not to mention the clean up afterwards ... was enough to trigger me into slaving away.

It actually came out pretty good :o)

Pakora Kari with Boiled Rice

Here is how it was made :)

Ingredients for the Pakoras:

1 cup chickpea flour (Baisan)

Salt and chillie powder to taste.

2-3 cups of oil for frying

Water

Ingredients for the Kari:

1 cup Yogurt

3/4 cup Chickpea flour

2 tablespoons of ghee or oil

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon cumin

half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds (meethi dana)

2 whole dried red chillies

half a teaspoon of red chillie powder

1 teaspoon of salt

3-6 cups of water.

Ingredients for Bhagar:

2-4 whole dried red chillies

half a teaspoon of red cayane pepper

1 tablespoon of oil.

Procedure:

Mix dry ingredients for the pakoras and then add water little by little, to make a smooth batter like paste. Let it sit for a bit. Heat the 2-3 cups of oil in a wok and use a teaspoon to drop little batter balls into the hot oil ... fry till they turn a golden color. Then take them out and set aside.

Add the salt and the red chillie powder to the chickpea flour, and then mix the yogurt and the chickpea flour in a large bowl. Adding a little water bit by bit, till it turns into a smooth paste sans lumps. In a cooking utensil, heat the oil and add the cumin, then the methi dana then the whole red chillies and bay leaves. Fry for a bit and then add the yogurt-chickpea mixture to it. Let it cook for 5-7 minutes an then add the rest of the water and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes.

When the mixture thickens... Put your fried pakoras in a bowl filled with regular tap water and soak them for a minute. Then take them out, squeeze the water out and put them in the simmering mixture.

Let it cook for another 5-7 minutes and then cover it with the bhaghar.

For the Bhaghar you have to heat the oil in a frying pan... add the whole red chillies and half a teaspoon of cayane pepper .. remember to add a wee bit of water to this so that the red chillie powder does not burn... and then pour this on top of the kari. You can use onions for the bhaghar as well.