Veggie Pakoras on a chilly January night

Today Jackie (my sister) and I spent much of our day shopping at the Domain, one of Austin's high end retail centers, it's beautiful but because it's all outdoors with lots of walking it was pretty chilly today at 44 degrees! After our shopping excursion, we hit the grocery store and came home, what to make, how about a warm veggie fritter (ala Cooking Light) and some frozen Coconut Shrimp (not so healthy but very tasty). We put away the groceries and I got started on the veggie pakoras, which I have been wanting to try since I saw them in the December 08 issue of Cooking Light (another fabulous find in the same vein as my earlier 'light' fried fish post).

Vegetable Pakoras

3 oz all-purpose flour (appx 2/3 cup)

2 tsp Madras curry powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup (1/4 inch) diced peeled sweet potato

1 cup (1/4 inch) diced cauliflower

1/2 cup finely diced onions

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (somehow I managed to not have this so I subbed 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes)

3 tbsp peanut oil

mango chutney - as a dipping sauce

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, curry powder, cumin and salt, stirring with a whisk. *If you sub something for the jalapeno that is dry (i.e. pepper flakes), add them with the dry ingredients. Combine 1/3 cup water and egg, stirring with whisk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until smooth. Cover; let stand 10 minutes.

2. Place sweet potato in a small saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain and cool to room temperature. Add sweet potato, cauliflower, onion, cilantro, garlic and jalapeno to flour mixture; stir until well combined (batter will be very thick).

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tbsp oil to pan, swirling to coat. Drop 2 tbsp batter into pan, and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Repeat procedure to make 6 pakoras. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; drain on paper towels. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and batter. Serve with chutney.

My recommendation for the chutney (and what I used) is something Dee-licious my mom made around the holidays, Spiced Mango Chutney, it was excellent with both the pakoras and the shrimp. The beauty of this dinner was that my sister, who isn't really apt to walk into an Indian restaurant with me, loved the pakoras....curry and all! They were easy, filling and good for you.