CABBAGE PAKODA/ SPICY CABBAGE FRITTERS

Cabbage pakodas/Spicy cabbage fritters

This recipe came to me when I was experimenting fritters with different vegetables. I wanted to create an appetizer which is quick, tasty and can be made when your friends/acquaintances show up suddenly at your house. It uses ingredients which are easily available in your house.  This recipe is unique as it uses cabbage, your guests won't be able to think about this ingredient in their wildest dreams. But they are super yummy !! They go very well with fried green chilies and ketchup on the side. 

Steaming hot cabbage pakodas

                    I will like to mention one important thing - while grating cabbage, use a thick or a coarse blade grater.  If you opt to use a knife, chop them coarse and not fine. The reason is when the cabbage is coarsely chopped, the fritters turn out crunchy and firm. In the latter case, they turn out lumpy. Let's have a look at the ingredients :

Ingredients :-

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1 1/2 cup cabbage grated/chopped coarse

1/2 cup gram flour or chickpea flour

3 tbsp rava or semolina

2 tbsp rice flour (optional)

1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 1/2 tsp red chili powder (or acc. to taste)

Olive oil for frying

Salt to taste

water for thinning the batter

handful of coriander chopped fine (optional)

3-4 green chilies for frying

Process :-

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1.  Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl to make a semi-thick batter. Make sure there are no lumps.

Semi-thick batter

2. Heat oil to medium high. Using a spoon, gently drop 2-3 fritters in hot oil and fry them turning once until golden brown. When frying, don't over crowd the pan with fritters, else they don't cook properly and turn soggy. It really depends on the size of your pan, but when using a medium sized pan allow 3-4 fritters max. for frying.

Golden brown fritters

3. For frying green chilies, you need to be extremely careful as when the chili hits the hot oil, it tends to pop spluttering the seeds out of the pan and turning your kitchen top into a mess. So what I do is, make a horizontal slit into the green chili, lower the temp. of oil and then drop it in oil. This way the chili doesn't pop as it is open  but still it will splutter some seeds. Here, the mess will be less :) I am not trying to scare you here,  just helping :)

The most safest way to fry a green chili is to take a tsp of oil on a flat griddle, let it heat to medium high then drop the chili on the griddle and cover it. Once the spluttering noise stops, you can open it and dish it out ! After going through so much pain, take my word on this - if you like spicy food then fried chilies are worth dying for !!!

4.  Season the fried green chilies with salt. Serve the steaming hot pakodas/fritters with fried chilies and tomato ketchup. Enjoy !!!

Cabbage fritters - ready to dig in !!