Mixed Pakoda

Looks like we will not have any respite from this age-long winter snow warning being there on this Sunday. Every time when the temperature escalates a bit, my hopes for a pleasant summer get high but all my excitements come to a naught when few days later the mercury again goes back to minus. It's sheer frustrating.

 

Last Thursday when a mild rain soaked the sky I slipped into a nostalgia for many a rain washed bygone days spent across the busy streets of Kolkata, the moment calling for some celebration my way through savoring the snacks ideal for such rainy evenings - pakoda. I had a wee tot of vegetables left over in the fridge which perfectly fit into making a batch of mixed pakodas. They are so yummy that I bet you cannot stop at one. I used the veggies that were at home right at that moment; you may mix and match the same way with whatever remnants of veggies left from your cooking.

Ingredients:                                                  Cooking time: 30 minutes ü  1/3 cup of all the following veggies: potato, cabbage, green beans, spinach, capsicum, onion (finely chopped) ü  2-3 green chillies (chopped) ü  1 inch long ginger (finely chopped) ü  2 tbsp anardana or pomegranate ü  1 heaped tsp cumin powder ü  1 tsp amchur powder ü  1 tsp paprika or dry red chilli powder ü  Salt to taste ü  3-4 tbsp besan or gram flour ü  2 tbsp rice flour ü  1/3 cup of water (adjust the amount as per need) ü  White oil for frying Method: 1) Except for oil, mix all the ingredients together and make thick mixture. 2) Heat oil in a wok and when oil turns smoking hot, add spoonful of the mixture and deep fry. 3) Continue frying in batches. Serve hot with mustard sauce or coriander chutney.