Indian Snacks - Bhajis and Pakoras

[Feckless Wench]

In the UK we have a high proportion of people from the 'Indian' countries. Hence, we eat a LOT of Indian food. Indian food tends to have a bad reputation throughout a lot of the world as being blindingly hot, stomach churningly greasy and BAD for you......it's not. REAL Indian food is none of those things....so....read on...

Indian Snacks are often used as starters to main meals as well as being used as snack foods. Despite the long list of ingredients, they are easy to make and keep well overnight in the refrigerator. They make wonderful 'party food' and can be prepared in advance and then reheated in the oven at the last minute -this is a good way of serving large amounts of hot snacks at the same time.

Indian food is generally GOOD for you. A lot of the spices actually AID digestion and, if the food is too hot...then you've put too much spice in! REAL Indian food will not 'blast your head off' but should leave your mouth feeling pleasantly warm and fragrant.

Besan (Chick Pea Flour) is gluten free and excellent for those who are wheat intolerant.

Here are the recipes for two of my favourite Indian Snacks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ONION BHAJIS

.

4oz - just under a cup Besan (Chick Pea / Gram Flour)

? teaspoon Red Chili Powder

? teaspoon Turmeric

? teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera) (or whole if you prefer)

1 Green Chili - deseeded and finely chopped

1oz Fresh Coriander (Cilantro) finely chopped

Pinch Salt

1 large or 2 small Onions

Cold Water to mix

Vegetable oil to fry

Sift the flour, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped coriander, onions and chilis and mix well, pressing the onions firmly to release the juices. Mix well and leave to one side.

Preheat the oil to 350F

Gradually add a little water to the flour mixture until it will just stick together. Take small handfuls of the mixture and form into flattened patties.

Drop gently into the hot oil and cook until browned.

NOTE: Do not make these too large or they will not cook through. Flattened 'Golf Ball' sized pieces are large enough.

Drain well and serve hot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VEGETABLE PAKORAS

.

First make the batter:

1? cups Besan (Chick Pea / Gram Flour)

? teaspoon Crushed Green chilis

1 teaspoon Coriander (Cilantro) Powder

? teaspoon Garam Masala

? teaspoon Mango Powder (optional)

? teaspoon Crushed Pomegranate Seeds (optional)

? teaspoon Red Chili Powder

? teaspoon Salt

Cold Water to mix

Mix all ingredients above with cold water to reach a thick, smooth batter consistency. Leave to stand for 30 mins.

Prepare the vegetables:

You can use a selection of fresh vegetables to either coat with the batter or mix into the batter. I tend to use the following:

Small Cauliflower florets - dipped

Zucchini slices - dipped

Mushrooms - dipped

Sweet Potato slices - dipped

Chopped Spinach - mixed in

Cook in vegetable oil, preheated to 350F.

For the dipped vegetable, simply dip the piece of vegetable into the batter, allow the excess to drip off and then fry immediately. For the mixed in vegetables, wait until you have finished dipping and then tip the chopped vegetables into the remaining batter, mix well and drop spoonfuls into the hot oil. Both types are ready when they begin to brown.

Drain well and serve hot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SERVING

These snacks should be served with a selection of Raita, Chutneys and Salads:

MINT AND CUCUMBER RAITA

.

Plain, unsweetened Yogurt (Dairy or Soya)

Chopped Fresh Mint leaves

Finely chopped Cucumber

Sprinkle of Red Chili Powder

Add as much mint and cucumber to the yogurt as you wish (you're the one eating it after all). Add a tiny amount of Red Chili Powder and mix well. Garnish with more Red Chili Powder (be VERY sparing!) and some fresh mint/coriander leaves.

CHUTNEYS: Buy these ready made, mango is nice, although be wary of 'Lime Pickle' as it is the hottest thing that I have ever made the mistake of putting in my mouth!!!

SALAD: By 'Salad' the Indians mean a selection of finely chopped salad vegetables. The most commonly used salad is finely cubed tomatoes mixed with cucumber, onion and chopped mint or coriander (cilantro). Experiment until you find what you like.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are feeding a lot of people, you can add in a selection of Indian Breads and Popadums, they go well with the chutneys and raita and salad and give the option of less spicy food for those who may prefer it.

 

[snafu]

Akutaq recipe

Akutaq is a Yupik word that means mix them together, but white man called it Eskimo Ice Cream. The way we pronounce akutaq is a-goo-duk. Akutaq is made in many different ways. This recipe was made by Natives a long, long time ago for survival. When they went out to go hunting or what ever, they brought along akutaq. Akutaq can also be made with moose meat and fat, caribou meat and fat, fish, seal oil, berries and other Alaskan things.

This was a healthy and tasty treat to them a long time ago; they never used sugar. Each family makes akutaq a little differently. This is how my family makes our akutaq. There aren?t any real instructions on how to make this recipe because we make it the way we were taught and we pass it down to our kids that way.

The traditional way to teach people to make akutaq is to let them watch and learn. And when we are done making it, we draw a shape of a cross in the middle of the akutaq with our finger. Then we take each type of berry from the akutaq (unless there is only one type of berry) and a pinch of the mixture, and throw it into the fire. When I do that, I have to say, ?Tamarpeci nerluci.? That?s in Yupik, but in English it means, ?All of you eat.?

Ingredients:

Fish (white fish, pike, or any kind of salmon) 3 to 4 pounds

Crisco/lard

Vegetable oil

Sugar

Berries (blue berries, salmon berries, cranberries, etc.) 1/2 gallon to a gallon

Directions:

Step 1 Gut the fish.

Step 2 Chop the fish into four to five pieces (depending on the fish size). If you bought from the store, that?s fine.

Step 3 You can throw away the head, tail, and guts from the fish.

Step 4 Place the fish into a large or medium size pot.

Step 5 Fill the pot of fish with plenty of water so it covers all the fish. (The Fish must be thawed.)

Step 6 After the water starts to boil, reduce the heat so it won?t boil too hard.

Step 7 Let the fish simmer for about 20 minutes or until it?s done.

Step 8 Cool in the pot so the flavor remains in the fish.

Step 9 After the fish is cool use a large basin (bowl) to put the fish in after you clean it.

Step 10 The way you clean the fish is take off the skin, take out the bones, and squeeze out all the water from the fish with your hands.

Step 11 After you do that to the whole fish, break up the squeezed fish.

Step 12 Look for bones that got left behind, and take them out if you found some.

Step 13 By the time your done with that, the fish should be all crumbled up.

Step 14 Take at least two large scoops of Crisco with your hand and add it to the fish.

Step 15 Stir it up with your hand for at least three to five minutes, or until the fish is mixed well with the Crisco.

Step 16 If the Crisco and the fish do not blend together, add a little more Crisco until it does.

Step 17 Take the vegetable oil and pour in about a cup. You don?t need to measure (estimate).

Step 18 Stir it up until it?s almost creamy.

Step 19 If it?s not getting creamy, add a little more vegetable oil.

Step 20 Whip it up with your hand until it gets fluffy.

Step 21 Pour at least a cup of sugar into the mixture (estimate).

Step 22 Stir it up until the sugar dissolves.

Step 23 Add about another cup of sugar to the mixture.

Step 24 Stir it up until the sugar dissolves.

Step 25 Add more sugar if it tastes like it needs more.

Step 26 Add plenty of berries to the mixture.

Step 27 Mix it up.

Step 28 Add more berries to the mixture if you want more. The akutaq should have

a lot of berries in it, but not too much.

Step 29 The akutaq is ready to eat.

Step 30 Always keep the akutaq refrigerated.

March 2, 2005

For more visit Akutaq.

Akutaq – Eskimo Ice Cream

 

[emkay64]

Snaf...that sounds like a recipe for pemmican....without the dried meat. It kinda sounds yucky. I'd try it, but it doesn't sound that appealing. Have you tried this?

 

[snafu]

I tried it out of respect once. I was at a native wedding once. I tried muck tuck too (whale fat). Both were extremely gross.

 

[emkay64]

I kinda figured LOL.

 

[sheik-yerbouti]

Those onion budgies are great