These crisp cabbage pakoda are fried tasty Indian style fritters made with cabbage, onions, gram flour, herbs and spices. The recipe comes together in 30 minutes and is a an easy snack to make.
½cupheaped besan(gram flour) - swap with chickpea flour
¾cupfinely chopped cabbage- green or purple
¼cupfinely chopped onions
1 to 2green chilies- chopped
½inchginger- finely chopped
1pinchasafoetida(hing), optional
¼teaspoonturmeric powder(ground turmeric)
¼teaspoonred chili powder(cayenne pepper) or add as required
1teaspoonwhite sesame seeds- optional
2 to 3teaspoonschopped coriander leaves
wateras required to make a medium thick batter
saltas required
oilas required for deep frying
Instructions
Making batter
First prep your ingredients. Rinse the cabbage, peeled onions, peeled ginger and green chillies. Finely chop them and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, add finely chopped cabbage, onions, green chillies and ginger.
Add besan (gram flour), chopped coriander leaves, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida (hing), sesame seeds and salt.
Add water in parts to make batter and stir very well. Ensure that there are no lumps in the batter.
The batter should not be thin or runny but of medium-thick consistency. Check the seasoning. If salt or the spiciness is less, add the salt or chili powder according to your taste preferences.
Frying cabbage pakoda
Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Keep the heat to medium. When the oil becomes medium hot, take spoonful of the pakora batter and pour it in the oil.
Add 6 to 8 spoonfuls of the pakora batter in the oil, individually. So you have 6 to 8 pakoras frying at a time.
When one side of the pakora becomes light golden and the batter firms up then gently turn over with a slotted spoon. Now fry the second side until light golden and then turn over again. This fry them until golden and crisp, turning them a couple of times as needed.
The batter as well as the cabbage should also be cooked from inside.
Fry them in batches till they become crisp, golden and cooked from within.
Place the fried pakoda on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
Serve the cabbage pakoda hot or warm with tomato ketchup or mint coriander chutney or tamarind chutney or any chutney or dipping sauce of your choice.
You can also have them with bread or roti or make sandwiches or wraps with them.
Notes
You can use any colored cabbage. The recipe works well with both purple and green colored cabbage.
Use any neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point. I generally make them in sunflower oil or peanut oil. For North Indian flavors fry them in mustard oil.
Remember to finely chop the cabbage, onions, green chilies. You can also shred cabbage in a food processor.
The recipe can be halved or doubled easily.
Make the batter to a medium-thick consistency. Don't make it watery or thin as a runny batter will absorb more oil while frying.
Note that the cabbage and onions will release some water in the batter. So be mindful when adding water to prepare the batter. I would recommend adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of water first and mix everything. This way continues to add water 1 tablespoon at a time till you get a medium-thick consistency flowing batter.
Fry the fritters in medium-hot oil. The temperature should be between 180 degrees Celsius to 190 degrees Celsius. If the oil is warm the pakora will absorb a lot of oil. If the oil is very hot then the outside batter will get cooked fast and the inside cabbage batter will be undercooked.
To make gluten-free cabbage fritters either skip adding asafoetida or source asafoetida labelled as gluten-free.