Celebrating Fried Stuff the Indian Way

Cooking Adventure: Vegetable Pakoras

Source: All Recipes

The Bellydance Soundtrack: Chunari Chunari by Abhijeet & Anuradha Sriram
Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Cook Time: 2-3 minutes per pakora

My husband can attest to the fact that, for a while, I became obsessed with Indian food. I'm not exactly sure from where it stemmed, only that this recipe was the best thing to come out of it. Pakoras are great because they're easy to make, you can use just about any veggie, you can reuse the oil from the recipe, and the best part, because they impress vegetarian friends at parties.

Of course, pakoras have also taught me another thing: that fried things are usually unphotographable - especially when you are working with overhead kitchen lighting. Fried things, unless you're dealing with fries, usually come out looking about the same - whether they're fried veggies, chicken bits or even candy bars. Ew. But I kid you not, Monday night I actually turned to grabbing our mini camping lantern and hold it to the side of the food in a vain attempt to produce more appetizing photos. Thank the God for the few remaining minutes of luminescence left in the sunset that night.

For Next Time: Usually I only use onions and cauliflower for this, but I think I'd like to try mushrooms and see where those go. Tried carrots once. Don't try carrots. They don't work. I'll describe it as baby food in a fried coating and we'll leave it at that.