By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: September 19, 2019
These are deep-fried, pan-seared, or oven-roasted vegan snacks that have a delightful spicy taste. Traditionally deep-fried, you can make them more heart-healthy by reducing the oil and fat content through methods like oven-roasting or pan-searing.
Dal offers protein that’s low in fat, high in fiber, and rich in vitamins and minerals. One cup of moong dal provides 15.5 grams of dietary fiber. Even If you fry these, you can know that the high fiber reduces cholesterol, prevents constipation, and makes overeating less likely as it fills you up. With potassium, calcium, folate and B vitamins, it’s a source of energy, helps produce DNA, and gives a boost to brain functioning.
You can fit the ingredients to what you have on hand. The pakoras can consist of any combination of dals (lentils or peas that are often split) that are left in your cupboard, and whatever frying oil works best for you. Coconut oil and grapeseed oil are the healthiest when organic, and they can be used over higher heat than organic extra virgin olive oil. If you use healthier methods such as oven-roasting or pan-searing, olive oil would also be acceptable because of the lower heat level.
Although fried foods can be indulgent, they’re deeply satisfying for hungry families. They’re also relatively easy and quick to prepare. Ginger and fennel both assist with digestion. The pakoras can be served over rice and with chutney or sauce, or tucked into a flatbread for a sandwich or taco-like wrap. A light, cool salad would be good on the side to balance the heaviness
Ingredients
1 ½ cup mixed dal (include any combination of split yellow mung, chana (chickpeas), chawl/chori (red lentils), split urad (split black gram or chickpeas), whole green moong, brown /green lentils)
Salt
¼ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 TBS coriander seeds, slightly crushed
2 TBS fennel seeds, slightly crushed
1 TBS fresh ginger
4 green chilies (with or without seeds, depending on your preferred spice level)
Directions
Soak the dal for 5 hours or a little bit longer. Drain it. Combine the soaked dal with all the above ingredients, and grind until smooth in a food processor or with a hand blender.
Heat a few inches of oil in a wok or saucepan over medium heat. Take the resulting batter and deep fry spoonfuls of it in several inches of hot oil. I use grapeseed oil and it works very nicely. Turn the pakoras to make sure they are evenly browned before removing them from the oil. Place on paper towels to drain off the excess oil.
For the alternative methods of pan searing or oven roasting, just cook the spoonfuls of dal either in a skillet with a thin layer of oil over medium heat until brown, or place on an oiled baking sheet at 350 Fahrenheit until brown. Turn and brown on both sides.
Serve them with a chutney or raita. I have also enjoyed them with homemade thousand island dressing and green salsa.
Enjoy!
Elizabeth Herman writes, offers writing support to clients, teaches, and volunteers for a better world. She has a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition and Literature.
