pakora and other Indian snacks, and Indian ketchup

[brymble]

I was in the health food store today, and one of the samples they were offering was this Indian spiced ketchup. It was called Maya Kaimal's Spicy Ketchup. It was amazing! I had to buy a bottle and rush home to make pakora!

I usually make cauliflower or tofu pakora because that's what I have on hand, but today I decided to make the potato and onion pakora that we often find at Indian buffets. My son loves it! We usually serve pakora with coriander or mint and/or tamarind chutneys, but yes, the ketchup was wonderful with it, too!

Has anyone ever heard of or tried this ketchup? It's by the same company that makes the refridgerated Indian simmer sauces in the plastic tubs. I found it in the refrigerated section of my health food store, next to the simmer sauces, not with the other ketchups.

And as for what to put the ketchup on, my way of making pakora is a little too casual to be called a recipe. 2 sliced onions, a grated potato, a little ginger or green chili. I just dump in chickpea flour (also called gram flour or besan) garam masala and cayenne, I don't even measure. I stir it up with enough water to make a thick batter, and drop by spoonfuls in hot oil. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.

Another Indian snack I love is aloo tikki (also popular with my kids), another variation on the fried-potato-snack theme. Mash potato with sauteed onion, green chili, and garam masala. Shape into "nuggets" or mini-cutlets and coat with bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. The kids used to really love this one, but sort of got tired of it after asking for it too often. A great alternative to chicken nuggets for vegetarian children.

[dandalion]

My second husband was Indian and use to make pakoras all the time. He used almost every kind of veggie but I liked the cauliflower and broccoli the best. Hated okra! Yes in India they put ketchup on everything! And I mean everything… Yuck! Your best bet in finding these is going to an Indian store if you have one in your area. I still go to them for some spices and henna. I do miss pakoras as well as this spicy rice and roties (sp?) he use to make. When I was in India with him visiting his family his mother taught me how to make dahl and nan but it just doesn’t taste the same.

Now all this makes me want to go to the only Indian restaurant in town!

[brymble]

I like rotis, but the Indian bread I love best is parathas! Especially gobi parathas, mmmmm!


I make dal all the time, usually ladel it over a flatbread and drizzle it with ghee. I think of that more as lunch than a snack, though.

The Indian ketchup was a nice treat, but I really love tamarind sauce.

Alas, the closest Indian store is in Poughkeepsie, and it's not that big and impressive. One of these days I have to make the 2 hour trip into New York. In the meantime, we make an effort to pay a visit to India House every time we're in Rochester for the kids to see their dad, and to get as many parathas and bags of those spicy Bengali snack mixes as I can carry! We joke about driving all the way to Rochester to go grocery shopping.