Just One Food - Pakora

I never fail to stop by to buy these Indian fried fritters each time I'm here.  I've been eating these fried snacks every year that I've come for the feast of St Anne in Port Klang.

 

They're sold by the few street vendors that set up shop outside Church of St Anne taking advantage of the large pilgrimage of Catholics who throng the church for the annual feast celebration.  There are many stalls selling all sorts of Indian snacks and nuts but I'm not sure if all these stalls are here on other (normal) days.

 

After years of eating this snack, I still didn't know what they're called until last Sunday when I stopped by to buy some.  I asked the vendor and he told me that they're called "pakoras". 

 

On googling, I came to know that pakora is a generic term used for these Indian deep fried fritters.  I also gathered that these small fritters are made with gram flour (otherwise known as chickpea flour).  A number of things can go into the chickpea batter such as onions, curry leaves, green chillies, spring onions, coriander, curry leaves (not sure if there's any dhal in it) and some Indian spices, of course (possibly garam masala, turmeric, cumin and/or chilli powder).  I've also seen these fritters referred to as "pakodi" or "pakoda".

 

It's quite interesting to see them make it.  They have this unusual contraption (self-made, I assume) that has many circular holes in it) which they place over a "kuali" (wok) of hot oil.  They then scoop some batter onto the metal sheet and scrape it with a wooden spatula until bits of the batter fall into the oil...how ingenious! 

 

These bits of batter are then stirred and fried...and scooped up with a perforated ladle once they're nice and golden brown.

 

These are the freshly fried crisp snacks waiting to be bought....and devoured! ;D  These immensely aromatic fritters are rather small in size compared to some I've seen.

They're sold at RM3 a packet (packed in a plastic bag)....and one packet is never enough!

 

I also understand that there are a number of different types of pakora depending on the vegetables or a combination of vegetables used.  They can be made with onions, potato, aubergine, cauliflower, spinach, etc.

 

Since I noticed that there's quite a bit of onions in them, I assume this is an onion pakora (I may be wrong).  I also detected the taste of curry leaves, spring onions, coriander and maybe some green chillies.

 

Eating them hot and freshly fried there and then is absolutely amazing!  The best parts are those tiny little bits of batter that fall off from the pakoras...those bits.....incredibly crispy and crunchy (and they stay crispy for quite a long while too).  Just sensational! :)

 

Even when the leftovers and taken home, they still have this wonderful fragrant aroma (especially from the curry leaves) and flavour to them that it's still a joy to eat them later.  But if you want to crunch them up again, just put them into a toaster oven for about 3 minutes.

Of course I'm not asking you to go all the way to Port Klang just to savour these snacks but if you do come across Indian vendors selling these little nuggets of crunchiness, be sure to get some as they're truly addictive...you just can't stop popping them into your mouth!