My absolute favorite snack are cottage cheese pakoras. Whenever I go home, I always ask my mom to make them for me (and they are often ready when I come in the door!). My mom recently emailed me the recipe she uses, which is from Saranya Auntie's (Saranya Mandava) Indian cookbook.
I recently "became an adult" in the sense that I am now finally able to start making pakoras at home (I received a small professional deep-fryer for my birthday which is really helpful to making these delicious fried snacks). And yes, I have that I have been going a little overboard and have started to make them ALL THE TIME.
The recipe, which I recommend EVERYONE try, follows the picture:
I usually double the recipe (and have tripled it once) and it works out just fine. Doubling the recipe maybe creates enough for 8 people for a snack portion, and 3 people eating them for a heavy snack/full meal.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz lowfat cottage cheese (I prefer smaller curd)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 2-3 green chillies, chopped (I use serranos or jalapenos)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or more -- to taste)
- 3/4 to 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- A healthy pinch or two of baking soda
- Oil for deep frying
Directions:
- Preheat oil to approx 355 degrees Fahrenheit (I use a professional mini-deep fryer, and I found this temperature to be the best)
- Mix salt, cumin, flour, cornstarch, and baking soda.
- Add cottage cheese to the dry mixture and mix well
- Add chopped ingredients and mix well.
- Loosely take walnut-size portions of the dough and place in deep fryer for approx 6-7 minutes. The pakoras should be a light to medium golden brown color on the outside and cooked through.
- Lay cooked pakoras on paper napkins to drain the excess oil.
- You can serve within a few minutes or frying, or keep out for a day or two (they best served while hot out of the fryer).
Typing the recipe has made me hungry for them. I think I will make them right now. I wish I was kidding -- they are really addictive!