Cauliflower pakoras
Once upon a time I had dinner at a lovely woman’s house who made an incredible vegan spread. With minimal fuss it seemed! And on the table were some incredible little cauliflower morsels. I’m not sure if this is true to what she did but I’ve played with it and tried to recreate it and oh my, we love these. I’ve discovered they actually work beautifully to make and take on a picnic too because they are great cold.
What I will note is that I make these by intuition and that’s difficult when it comes to a recipe. But basically, if you want the cauliflower chunkier or smoother, do what works; if you like more/less spice, do what works; if you can’t have chick peas (the besan flour), do what works…you know how it goes. The possibilities, as always, are endless. Use it and go with your instincts. And try not to overcook the base like I did in this pic 🙂
1/2 cauliflower
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup besan flour
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tblspn chia seeds (soaked in 1/3 cup water)
For the spices, I have used either a combination of garam masala/cumin/ginger/tumeric
OR a basic Indian curry powder, plus a bit more turmeric for colour.
You can also add in onion powder for a bit more taste, and chilli.
Be sure to salt the mix well.
*NB the last time I made this I added in fresh coriander and it was beautiful! You could also add in fresh mint for something different too.
Either chop the cauliflower finely, or put cauliflower, onion and garlic into food processor and loosely process until it’s finely chopped. Stir in besan flour, chia and water and add spices.
Drop spoonfuls into hot oil (best in a non-stick pan) and fry on both sides.
Delicious!!
Plant based Munchies 