This is a bit of a cheat as the pakoras were part of my Spicery Goan Curry Night box, but they were so good that I thought I would share the recipe. My guest had bought me two round yellow squashes from her garden so I grated one of them for the pakoras. You can just as easily use carrots, sweet potato or courgette. I think the vegetable needs to be sweet and not too watery, so if you use courgette, are sure you squeeze them out in a dish cloth.

Makes 8
80 g self-rising flour, or gram (chick pea) flour plus 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100 ml water
175 grated squash/carrot/courgette/sweet potato
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
good twist black pepper
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
good handful of fresh coriander finely chopped

Method

Whisk the flour, the salt, and the pakora spices with 100 ml water to make a smooth batter then stir in the grated vegetables and the fresh coriander.

In a large wok or pan, carefully heat some vegetable oil – maybe about 1-2 cm, enough to make a good sizzle but not to drown the pakoras in deep-fired oiliness. Test it by dropping a tiny amount of the mixture. When it is ready it will sizzle furiously.

Now drop heaped tablespoons of the batter into the wok; you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan. Fry a few minutes on each side until brown, cooked in the middle but still soft. Drain on kitchen paper and then serve with a chat masala which you can buy from the Spicery… or make yourself (a bit of a fiddle and it’s quite delicious without).