Turnip Pakoras

This week we had the first inkling of fall here in Dallas. The temperatures dropped considerably and it seemed that relief from the oppressive heat was finally on the way. Ahh the joy of fall was very much short-lived since the balmy weather lasted for just 2 days. The bright spot was that the weather gave me a chance to enjoy a time-honored tradition of my home city of Mumbai; i.e. having piping hot tea and fritters or CHAI-PAKORAS as it is locally called to combat the cold. What made it even better was that the same old onion pakoras were replaced with; wait for it, wait for it TURNIP PAKORAS!!!!!

I was really on a roll with eating healthy food and working out regularly for the past 2-3 weeks. But routines like this always need cheat days.. RIGHT!!!! Otherwise mere mortals like me find it difficult to sustain them (CHUCKLES!!!). However cheat days are not meant to eat like crazy and destroy all the hard work of the past 3 weeks. Fortunately I am sensible enough to realize that (LAUGHS!!!) and control my diet accordingly. So I indulged myself on a little fried food this week. Y’all are not going to believe it when I say that it was the cold front that came in that was responsible for me doing so (WINKS!!!).

Every year the advent of monsoon brings a huge relief to Mumbaikars from the heat and humidity. Nothing makes them feel better like enjoying the cool weather with a cup of tea in one hand and hot pakoras fresh of the fryer in the other. It is those memories, which came flooding back to me this week. I went in the kitchen looking for onions to make these fritters when my eyes fell on the bunch of turnips lying by themselves in the corner. A light bulb instantly went off in my head and I decided to experiment with making TURNIP PAKORAS instead (CHUCKLES!!!). See even if I am frying something I have chosen to use a green leafy vegetable to do so. That doesn’t count as a cheat day.. RIGHT!!!. Maybe I will go eat something like Icecream and really cheat.. (LAUGHS!!!)

That is a conversation for another day. I will get back to the recipe. It is as simple as chopping up the turnip leaves, adding flour and spices and then frying.

Wash the turnip leaves, drain the water and chop coarsely. Dry roast the cumin seeds. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl mix the turnip leaves, gram flour, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, dry mango powder, chaat masala, corn flour and the roasted cumin seeds. Keep aside for 15 min.

Remember the mixture will release water. Make sure you add enough water so that everything just comes together. Spoon a handful of mixture and fry them in hot oil till golden brown and crispy. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot with Mint Chutney or Ketchup.

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Turnip Pakoras

Rahul

These deep fried fritters not only are the perfect tea-time snack but also warm your heart on a cold, blustery day.

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

  

• 3 cups Turnip leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 cup Besan/gram flour
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 ½ tsp Red chili powder
• 3 tsp Roasted Cumin Seeds
• 1 ½ tsp Dry Mango Powder
• 1 tsp Chaat Masala
• 4 tsp Corn Flour
• Salt
• Water: as needed
• Oil: for frying

Instructions

 

• Wash the turnip leaves, drain the water and chop coarsely.
• Dry roast the cumin seeds. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl mix the turnip leaves, gram flour, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, fry mango powder, chaat masala, corn flour and the roasted cumin seeds. Keep aside for 15 min.
• Remember the mixture will release water. Make sure you add enough water so that everything just comes together.
• Spoon a handful of mixture and fry them in hot oil till golden brown and crispy. Drain on absorbent paper.
• Serve hot with Mint Chutney or Ketchup.

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