Cauliflower Fritters

When I was travelling to Faridabad, I tasted Gobhi ke Pakore at a very popular food joint ‘Padam Pakorewale’. Though I am not a big fan of Cauliflower, I loved their way of deep-frying the fritters twice which gives an amazing crunch to it. Apart from Gobhi ke Pakore, there were multiple of varieties like Kamal Kakdi (Lotus Stem) ke Pakode,  Paneer Pakore, Chaap ke Pakore and many more. They serve it with a special Guava based green chutney which is a cherry on cake. I tried to replicate the taste and was successful to quite an extent. The best part about these fritters is that the ingredients are easily available in your kitchen throughout the year.

Servings: 4 people

Approx. Time:  Preparation time – 10 mins, Cooking time – 20 mins

Ingredients:

Basic Ingredients:

1 medium sized Cauliflower (approx. 500 gms)

Fresh spices
10-12 Garlic cloves
6-7 Green Chillies
2 inch Ginger piece
Salt to taste
 
Dry spices
½ cup chopped fresh Coriander leaves
½ tspn Black Pepper Powder
½ tspn Cumin Powder (Jeera Powder)
½ tspn Garam Masala (Curry Powder)
 
Ingredients for Batter
2 cups Gram flour (Besan)
1 tspn Carom Seeds (Ajwain / Owa)
½ tspn Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
1-2 tbspn hot Oil
1 tspn Salt
Water
 
Vegetable Oil for frying
 
To serve with
Green Chutney
Tomato Ketchup
Masala Chai (Indian Spiced Tea)
 

Method:

Pre-preparation:

·       Make coarse paste of Ginger, Garlic and green chillies by adding some salt.

·      Wash Cauliflower under running water. Separate the Cauliflower florets from cauliflower and clean it.  Heat 6/7 cups of water in a pan and add salt to it. Once it starts boiling, add the Cauliflower to boiling water and partially cook it for one or two minutes. Remove it immediately and keep it aside.

Method:

Combine the par-boiled Cauliflower florets with Ginger-garlic-chilli paste, Black Pepper powder, Cumin Powder, Garam masala and Salt in a mixing bowl. Mix spices with the cauliflower florets and leave it aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

To make the batter, combine the Besan flour, Carom seeds, Turmeric powder, and Salt in a deep mixing bowl. Gradually start adding water to the mixture and whisk it nicely. Prepare smooth batter of dense consistency.

Heat the Oil in a deep frying pan. Drop a small portion of batter to check if the oil is hot. If the oil is hot enough, the dough rises after few seconds. Once the Oil is heated, add one to two tablespoons of hot oil to the Besan batter. Dip each marinated cauliflower piece in the batter and drop it in hot oil. Deep fry the fritters on medium flame till it is half done and gets a golden colour. Once done, remove it on a kitchen paper towel. Repeat the process and get all the fritters fried.

Before serving, flatten the fritters by pressing it between palms or with the help of back of a ladle or spoon. Now again re-fry it on medium flame till the fritter becomes golden brown in colour and crisp. Remove the double fried fritters on a clean kitchen paper towel so that extra oil gets absorbed.

Sprinkle Chaat Masala evenly over the fritters before serving (optional). Serve hot with Chutney, Tomato ketchup and Masala Chai.

Notes:

1. I have not used Soda Bi-carb as it affects the crispy texture of the fritters.
2. Ensure that the Cauliflower florets are not overcooked in boiling water as it may affect the texture of final dish.
3. For making the batter, you can also mix small quantity of rice flour and/or semolina and/or Corn flour with the gram flour. But fritters taste great with Gram flour only.
4. Jain version can be made by substituting Ginger & Garlic with Asafoetida powder (Hing).
5. You may also add chopped Curry leaves or mint leaves to change the flavor.