During the rainy and monsoon season, when it is drizzling outside, many people feel like eating something hot and spicy. Instead of usual pakoras or tea with snacks, enjoying the rain becomes twice as pleasant if the aroma of frying black lentil pakoras drifts from the kitchen.
The Problem and Solution
People often complain that black lentil pakoras turn out either hard inside or absorb too much oil on the outside. However, here is a simple recipe and a special technique that guarantees your pakoras will be perfectly crispy on the outside, soft and airy inside, and delicious to perfection.
Required Ingredients
To prepare, you will need: 1 cup of washed black lentils (soaked for 3-4 hours), 2 tablespoons of rice flour, 2-3 green peppers, 1 inch of grated ginger, 1 teaspoon of lightly crushed whole coriander, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper or crushed black pepper, a pinch of asafoetida, 1/2 teaspoon of ajwain, finely chopped green peas, salt to taste, and oil for deep frying.
Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions
First, you need to grind the lentils: drain all the water from the soaked lentils, then place them in a food processor and grind, using either no water or adding only 1 teaspoon of water to achieve a coarse consistency.
The Secret to Perfect Batter
Transfer the ground lentils to a large bowl. Then, using your hands, knead them thoroughly in one direction until the color of the lentils becomes slightly lighter (white) and they start to increase in volume. To check the readiness of the batter, drop a small amount into water: if it floats, the batter is ready.
Adding Spices and Frying
Add the rice flour, ground coriander, black pepper, asafoetida, ajwain, grated ginger, chopped green pepper, green peas, and salt to taste to the resulting batter, mixing all components thoroughly. Heat the oil in a pan. Wet your hands with water and start dropping small pieces of batter into the hot oil.
Serving the Dish
Maintain medium heat and flip the pakoras with a spatula until they are evenly golden and crispy on all sides. Remove the finished crispy pakoras, sprinkle with chaat masala, and serve hot with ginger tea and spicy mint sauce.
