Baked Lemon Cilantro Pakoras

This is another dish we test-drove before our Indian Easter feast.

Pakoras are veggie-based fritters common across South Asia and are a popular snack or appetizer in India. Walk into any store in Little India, and you will see them: 2 for $1, although I have no clue who would want to buy cold deep-fried snacks.  Lemon Cilantro Pakoras is a recipe from Tess, so we knew it would be scrumptious. However, we wanted to figure out how to make them without deep-frying.  Here, we mix finely chopped cauliflower and onions in a lemon-cilantro-cumin studded chickpea flour batter. Akin to a souped up chilla, in ball form, oozing with lemony cilantro goodness. Like naan, these tasty fritters are best fresh, warm straight from the oven.

I will admit that we didn’t do a double-blinded randomized control trial for this cooking experiment. We made the batter and cooked them 3 different ways: a) in my aebleskiver pan; b) in a non-stick skillet; and c) baked on a silpat. The hardest part was keeping the pakoras together as we cooked and flipped them, so we also did a batch with extra chickpea flour on the skillet. I took photos of each version, but they kind of looked the same, so I will spare you the repetition.

I will get right to the unanimous verdict:

Baked pakoras for the win!

First of all, they were definitely the easiest: smush into a ball and bake. Although I flipped them half-way while baking, and then dusted with some oil, they are fairly hand’s off: no need to tend to them over the stovetop, roll them about, fiddle with additional oil, etc. Secondly (although most important), they tasted the best. The extra oil needed for the aebleskiver pan didn’t help them not stick and definitely made them taste heavier. The silpat was also easier to clean. Rob and I both preferred the lighter, refreshing taste from the baked pakoras. Out of everything we served at Easter, this was also the unanimous dish loved by all (including my hard-to-please father).

I feel like a real gourmand telling you all about pakoras, but the truth is I had no clue was a pakora was until last weekend. Rob, my resident Indian cuisine connoisseur, assured me this tasted authentic and better than what he has eaten at restaurants. He liked these more because they were lighter and healthier. Considering these are basically chopped up veggies slathered in a chickpea flour batter, they seem like a quick, guilt-less snack to me! We enjoyed them with tamarind and mango chutneys, but cilantro chutney would be paired with them more often.

Another note, I wanted to give a shout-out to Justa who recently tagged me with a Sunshine Blog Award as an Inspirational Blog. Her description of my blog had me nearly in tears:

This blog is my secret obsession.  I’ve spent so much time over there I almost feel like a stalker!  Janet is Vegan and while Mr. Foodie and I sometimes struggle to get a day’s worth of veggies, we are trying to eat more meatless meals and more healthily.  Her blog is amazing to me and often intimidating but I don’t let that stop me.  I read it like I’m studying a book, probably because I can’t pronounce half the stuff she makes and have no idea what the ingredients are so I end up googling them and learning so much about new foods and food combinations.  She also provides lots of links to other blogs so the amazing food journey never seems to end.  If you want to learn more about healthy recipes this is a good place to start.

I am thrilled to know I have been able to keep her inspired to try new ways of incorporating veggies into her meals. Part of why I blog is because I hope to inspire others with easy, healthy cooking and connect with other like-minded people. I also post about my cycling adventures because cycling was a big positive change in my life two years ago. I went from walking 30 minutes a day to/from the subway as my only exercise to building myself up to bike 361 km over 2-days last summer. Even though I now go to the gym regularly and have returned to biking to work, I still don’t consider myself athletic! There is something magical about biking: anyone can do it with a proper bicycle.

I don’t consider myself to have any innate athletic skills (I am possibly the most non-athletic person), nor do I have any special skills in the kitchen. My secret to capturing kitchen bliss is to know what I like, push myself in new directions to keep things interesting, maintain a well-stocked pantry and use fresh ingredients whenever possible. I love trying out new recipes but usually tweak them to my tastes.

I am still learning how to do the cycling thing better, but my tips are: a) wear a good helmet to protect your head; b) ride a comfortable non-cruiser bicycle; c) use a good lock so your bicycle doesn’t get stolen; d) incorporate cycling into your daily activities; e) padded cycling shorts + chamois butter are essential for long rides; f) gradually build up distance to cycle the long rides, taking breaks as you need them and g) have no shame in using your granny gear (ie, your lowest possible gear) for the big hills. 😉

I have been honoured with a few other blogger awards, and had planned to do a dedicated post gushing over my favourite bloggers akin to my favourite cookbooks post. I will save that for another day, though. 🙂 In the meantime, try out these healthy pakoras and let me know what you think. Don’t let the wacky name intimidate you. 🙂

This is being submitted to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Simona, to this week’s Healthy Vegan Fridays, and to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend.

Baked Lemon Cilantro Pakoras
Adapted from Radiant Health, Inner Wealth

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)
1 tablespoon rice flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1.5 teaspoons cumin powder
1.5 teaspoons cumin seeds
1.5 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (packed)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
1.5 cups chopped yellow onion (do not use your food processor)

melted coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients (chickpea flour, rice flour, baking soda, cayenne, turmeric, coriander, cumin powder, cumin seeds and salt). Mix together and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower, cilantro, lemon juice and onions, stirring to combine well.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet vegetables and stir to combine.

5. With your hands, squish the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Continue with remainder of dough.

6. Bake pakoras for 20-30 minutes, turning over half-way through. With a pastry brush, coat the exposed side of the balls with the melted oil when flipping the balls.

7. Serve immediately with Indian chutneys (tamarind, mango or cilantro – cilantro chutney is more typical with pakoras). Leftovers can be reheated in the oven at 400F.

Serves 4.