Sitting in a verandah with friends, sipping hot masala tea and nibbling on hot pakoras. This evokes a cherished childhood memory of carefree days.
All of us have our favourite memories associated with Monsoons.
A more hedonistic indulgence would be having the pakoras with soft melt in the mouth fresh bread slices, richly latherd in butter…..HEAVEN!
Fairly simple and easy to put together, this humble, yet delectable combo is sure to tickle the most fastidious of palates.
TEA
Measure per Cup/p>
1/3 Cup Milk
2/3 Cup Water
1 Crushed Cardamom
1 cm piece of Ginger (or pinch of ginger powder)
1 Black Pepper – lightly crushed
Mace (Javitri) – tiny pinch
Licourice root (Mulaithi) Powder – tiny pinch tiny pinch of cinnamon powder
Saffron (Kesar)- couple of strands (optional)
CTC Tea – 1 heaping tsp
Bring the water and milk to a boil. Add all the other ingredients.
Add 1 heaping tea spoon of your favourite CTC tea. Boil a bit, or remove from flame and cover and leave for a couple of minutes. Mix in sugar to taste, or add sugar or sweetener to cup – as desired.
Strain into cups, or better yet Kullads (earthen cups) if possible. Sip deeply and enjoy!
Pakodas
Onion slices – a couple of onions – 5 mm thick slices
Green Chillies – slit into half, remove seeds, stuff with Mango Pickle masala (if there)
Cauliflower – a handfull of 3 cm florets
Potato – 5 mm thick slices – from two potaotes
Spinach – a handfull of tender leaves, washed, and patted dry
Cottage Cheese (Paneer) – approx. 150 gms. Cut into 1 cm by 4 cm fingers.
Batter: Chick pea flower (Besan) – 1and a half cup.
Red chili powder – 1 tsp (or more. Depends how spicy you want it)
Turmeric powder – 1/3 tsp
Ajwain (Carum seeds) – ½ tsp
Cumin (zeera) – 1 tsp lightly crushed.
Aesofitida (Hing) – a small pinch
Salt – to taste
Water – as required
Dry mix the batter ingredients in a bowl and slowly add the water till you get a manageable batter. Should be free flowing, and not thick, nor runny. Add more Chick pea flower if too thin.
Heat oil in a wok on medium high. Put in a drop of the batter. If it comes to the top, then the temp is good. Dip in the vegetables and paneer, one at a time, and gently put in the hot oil. Adjust the flame as required. The fritters (Pakoras ) should be nice and golden. Take out with a slotted spoon on to a blotting paper. Drizzle with chaat masala. Serve hot with the tea.
