08 January 2009

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Yesterday was the second anniversary of our Indian wedding! Time sure flies when you're having fun. Since Mummy is with us, the first thing we did in the morning was to touch her feet and take her blessings. The day felt extra-special because we had her with us!

To celebrate, we made pakoras and had champagne that night (Mummy even had a tiny glass!). Making pakoras is a cooperative effort for V and me. I prepare the veggies and batter, and he does the frying (I am skittish of hot oil, so he's the designated fryer in our family). It's so fun to hang out in the kitchen together making them that that's what I requested that we do for our anniversary.

Making pakoras is easy! I prefer the kind with individual veggies, rather than chopped veggies in blobs as you see at restaurants. My favorite kinds are mushroom and onion, but you can use your imagination and whatever veggies take your fancy.

Pakoras

2 cups besan
1 cup water
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp red chile or to taste
2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp khatai
1-2 tsp chaat masala
1 minced green chile
vegetables of your choice:
sliced onions
pieces of potato
pieces of green bell pepper
jalapeno chiles, halved lengthwise
small mushrooms, halved if desired
squares of bread
paneer
etc.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and add the chile. Add the water a little at a time and stir to make a batter that is of the right thickness. It should be thick enough to coat the veggies, and not too runny. Put vegetables into the batter and fry over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Serve with ketchup or spicy ketchup (like Maggi brand).

6 comments:

Raag said...

>(Mummy even had a tiny glass!)

Grrreat. Kudos to Mummy Jee!

D. Jain said...

Haha, yes! She's even wearing jeans sometimes while she is here, can you believe it? My didis said they've never seen her wear anything but sarees.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! We recently celebrated our first anniversary of our Indian wedding. :-)

Pakora seems a lot like the tempura my Korean-American uncle always prepares. Delicious! (It's also really good with marinated shrimp, for the non-vegs reading).

D. Jain said...

Congrats to you too on your anniversary, Gori Girl! Yes, this reminds me a lot of tempura. You can use pretty much any vegetable or whatever you like. It's really fun!

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your anniversary! Sounds like you had a great time.
I kidded Ma while she stayed with us a couple of years ago that i was going to make her wear jeans while she was visiting us. Needless to say that didn't happen. thats nice that your MIL was able to do that.