Oh Pakoray. What a wonderful thing they are. So simple, so delicious, so amazing, almost too good to be true. Have I sold you on them? I sold myself and I already like them! For those who don’t know Aloo ke Pakoray are Pakistani Potato Fritter. Very commonly eaten for iftar during Ramadan, but honestly, don’t restrict yourself!! You may eat it whenever you’d like. Anyways, this delicious, bite-sized, fritter is so easy you’ll be wondering why you haven’t made them before! Maybe it’s because you haven’t heard of them but guess what? I just took care of that! So, come one, go out there and make some pakoray. Let’s get on with the recipe, shall we?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup besan (gram flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon Pakistani red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala (optional)
- 1/2 cup water (+/-)
- 3 new potatoes, thinly sliced
- vegetable oil, for frying
Directions:
I think the reason we eat pakoray during Ramadan so much is because of how easy they are to make. Very low effort yielding delicious results. You just can’t beat those odds…ever, really. Now to start off simply mix dry ingredients together, which includes the besan, spices, salt, baking powder and optionally, chaat ka masala. The chaat masala isn’t really required because it’s not always in people’s cupboards but if you have it go ahead and add it in, it gives a nice kick!
Once the dry ingredients are together give them a thorough mix until everything is even and then you can start adding the water. Add it in slowly about a tablespoon at at time. I used about a half a cup all together but yours may be different. Just keep mixing until you have a fairly thick batter, a little thicker than a typical pancake batter. You don’t want it too thin that it runs right off the potato.
Once your batter is done, set it aside for at least 10 minutes just to let it soften up and combine thoroughly. In the meantime you can prepare the potatoes. We had new potatoes in the house, which are the small baby potatoes that have a thin skin. Since the skin is so thin you don’t need to peel them. If you end up using some larger potatoes just peel before you slice. To prepare, just slice them into about thin rounds about 1/8 inch thick. And once that’s over with you can go ahead an put them in the batter. I did it in 3 batches just so it was easier to mix and coat them. Give the potatoes a mix in the batter until they have been coated and then you can cook.
Now that they’ve been coated you are so close to having pakoray!! There is just one crucial step left…cooking them! I don’t know if it’s the MOST crucial, but you know, it’s up there. To start cooking in a large pot or wok fill up enough oil to comfortably submerge the pakoray, this will depend on the pot you are using. Heat the oil on medium heat until a little piece of batter added in will start bubbling. Start adding the pakoray once the oil is heated.
I like to do this by hand. Picking up each pakora and letting any excess batter drip off before carefully putting into the oil. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m a bit of a pakora expert. That being said, if you aren’t comfortable with this approach you are more than welcome to use a fork. Pakora Mastership is something you work your way towards
Look at all those frying pakoras. They look great and you are doing great! As they fry they’ll start to rise up and turn golden brown, just give them a flip with a large slotted spoon. Keep cooking and occasionally flipping until they are deep golden brown on both sides. At this point you can take them out and put them on a paper-towel lined plate! This is exciting because you just made pakoray!!! Go ahead and do the rest of the batches and just monitor the heat as you go. Just keep an eye on it, adjusting as needed.
A wonderful appetizer, Aloo ke Pakoray, can be served with some green or tamarind chutney or even ketchup. Can’t go wrong with some ketchup.
Aloo Pakoray (Potato Fritters)
Ingredients
- 1 cup besan (gram flour)
- ½ teaspoon Pakistani red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala (optional)
- ½ cup water (+/-)
- 3 new (or small) potatoes, thinly sliced
- vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Start by making your batter. Mix together all the dry ingredients thoroughly including chaat masala (optional) if you have.
- Slowly add the water until you have a thick batter, similar to cake batter or thicker than pancake batter.
- Set batter aside for about 10 minutes to soften and flavors combine.
- Slice potatoes thinly with peel on. If you use something other than new potatoes with a thicker skin, peel the skin.
- Slice into about ⅛ inch rounds.
- In batches add the potatoes into batter. Mix into batter until the slices are coated.
- Add enough oil in pot to comfortable submerge the pakoray. Heat up oil on medium heat in a pot until little piece of batter added starts to bubble.
- Carefully place coated potato slices into hot oil, allowing excess batter to drip off before putting in oil. Place as many slices can fit into pot without overcrowding.
- Once pakoray rise to the top of oil and start to brown, flip them over using slotted spoon.
- Continue cooking and flipping in oil until pakoray are a deep golden brown. Take them out with a slotted spoon and put on paper toweled lined plate to drain excess oil.
- Once they have cooled slightly, serve them up.
- Can be served with green or tamarind chutney or ketchup.
- Enjoy!
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