Corn Pakora

Preparation time – 15 mins

Cooking time – 20 mins

Corn Pakora or Corn Vada is an ideal snack when you are in mood for some crispy and crunchy hot fritters. These yummy pakoras go well with your evening cup of chai. These pakoras can be made with regular corn or sweet corn….. I prefer sweet corn as it is tastier !!

Ingredients:

Sweet corn – 1 cup

Ginger – 1/2 inch

Green chilli – 1 or 2

Jeera powder – 1 tsp

Ajwain – 1/2 tsp

Rice flour – 1 tbsp

Corn flour – 1 tbsp

Onion – 1 (finely chopped)

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp (finely chopped)

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

1. Boil the sweet corn kernels till they are soft. If you are using frozen corn, defrost in a microwave.

2. Next grind the corn along with ginger, chillies and jeera powder into a coarse paste.

3. Transfer this paste into a mixing bowl. Add rest of ingredients and mix well to form a thick batter.

4. Make lemon size balls and flatten into patties between your palms.

5. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Slowly drop the patties and fry on medium flame till both sides turn golden brown.

6. Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

Sabudana Vada/ Sago Pakora

Sabudana Vada or Sago Pakora is a crispy crunchy tea-time snack which is also made during fasting days. I remember the first time I tasted it, it was in a relative’s house-warming function. It was so addictive, that I ended up stuffing myself with about a dozen of them. If made right, it is so light and crispy that it will just melt in your mouth !!

Yield: makes around 15 vadas

Ingredients:

Sabudana/ Sago pearls – 1 cup

Potato – 2 No’s (medium sized)

Peanuts – 2 tbsp

Green chilli – 3 No’s (finely chopped)

Ginger – 1/2 inch (grated)

Coriander – 2 sprigs (finely chopped)

Jeera seeds- 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp

Dry Mango powder ( Amchur powder) – 1 tsp  (can be substituted with 1 tsp lemon juice)

Turmeric – pinch

Salt – 1  tsp (vary as per taste)

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

1. Wash and soak sago pearls in water for minimum 4-5 hours or over night. They would puff up and become soft.  Drain and squeeze out excess water from the soaked sago.

(Tip: soaking time may differ based on the type of sago used)

2. Boil, peel and mash the potatoes. Make sure the potatoes are not too watery, else they might make the vadas  soggy.

3. In a pan, roast the peanuts till they slightly turn brown. Coarsely crush them using a mortar and pestle . Keep the texture coarse and not too powdery as they add a great crunch to the vadas.

4. Now mix all the ingredients together. There is no need of adding any extra water as the moisture  in sago and potatoes helps in binding the ingredients together.

5. Make equal lemon-sized balls and shape them into flat round patties. If required, use oil or rice flour  to prevent the mix from sticking on the hands.

6. Heat oil in a wide pan for deep frying. Make sure the heat is on medium high. Drop 2-3 patties at a time and fry till both sides turn golden brown. Transfer onto a paper towel for absorbing excess oil.

8. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney!

Cooking Tip: The temperature of the oil is the key to making crispy vadas. Make sure the heat is medium high. If the heat is low, the vadas absorb a lot of oil and they become soggy.