Golden Pumpkin Pakoras coated with chickpea flour, garam masala, chili powder, ground turmeric, and cumin seeds. They are crispy crunchy and gluten free.
Fall is going by very quickly and winter will soon be upon us. In fact, we had some snow on Monday. It felt very cold as is usually the case with the first snow fall of the season. Fortunately, it did not stay around for too long and melted right off. I don’t think I am quite ready for snow yet. Usually after Thanksgiving when all the Christmas decorations are out, I will come round to it and brace myself for the brutal cold here in Minnesota. For now, I still want to hang on to fall and and enjoy some Pumpkin Pakoras. 🙂
Yes, it is time again for another round of Nona-Nona with Denise of Singapore Shiok!. The theme this month is PUMKPKIN, chosen by me. It is the season for pumpkins and we should most definitely do pumpkins. I blurted it out to Denise without giving it much thought. Only after I have had time to think about it did I realize that back in Malaysia, pumpkin was not something that people cook a lot of. In fact, I know of only one Chinese dish that uses pumpkin. It is braised pumpkin with dried shrimp. Oh my…I am stuck!
Should I cook that dish or should I ask Denise to allow me to change the theme? I mulled over it for several days and then decided I should stick with the theme out of fairness to Denise. Since the family is not too keen on braised pumpkin, I would end up eating it all by myself. Wow…one person eating two and a half pounds of pumpkin is no small feat! I had to think of something else. I think Pumpkin Pakoras or fritters would work. Surely no one will object to fritters. Though I am not big into deep frying at home, this will have to be one of those exceptions.
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Pakoras are small savory deep fried snacks typically consisting of vegetables coated in a batter made from besan or chickpea flour. The vegetables commonly used are potatoes, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, and spinach. The batter is prepared by blending chickpea flour with water. Spices may be added to enhance its flavor.
In this version, I added garam masala, chili powder, ground turmeric, and cumin seeds which made the batter really fragrant. I also mixed in some rice flour to give the Pumpkin Pakoras a crunchier texture. I really like this batter as it is egg-free and gluten-free and everyone in the family can enjoy them without reservations.
One of the fun and also nail-biting part of Nona-Nona is that apart from the theme, neither Denise nor I reveal to each other what we are preparing. Since we both come from very similar cultural backgrounds, there is always the possibility of us preparing a similar dish. Last month the theme was peanuts and guess what? We both came up with BOILED PEANUTS!! Hopefully this time, Denise has other plans… Let’s hop over to Singapore Shiok to see what is cooking in her kitchen.
Before we move on to the recipe, here is a quick reminder that the giveaway for Denise’s latest cookbook is still open. You can win a copy of this handy cookbook by just posting a comment and letting me know where you are from by clicking HERE. This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide until 9:00pm US Central Standard Time, Sunday, November 18th, 2012.
Golden Pumpkin Pakoras coated with chickpea flour, garam masala, chili powder, ground turmeric, and cumin seeds. They are crispy crunchy and gluten free.
- 1 cup besan / chickpea flour (130g)
- ¼ cup rice flour (30g)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (toasted)
- 1 tsp salt
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- 1 small pumpkin (peeled, seeded and cut into ¼-inch thick wedges) (2½ lbs/1.3kg)
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Combine besan, rice flour, garam masala, chili powder, ground turmeric, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in 1 cup (240ml) warm water and stir until a smooth batter forms. Cover and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
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Heat up about 1-inch of oil in a deep medium sized pan.
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Dip individual pieces of pumpkin in batter and fry in the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and drain on a wire strainer.
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Serve immediately with some chutney if desired.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Well done my friend!!!! LOL The other dish I wanted to do was Chinese pumpkin cake – the one steamed with rice flour, dried shrimps and a bunch of other savoury stuff. Your pakoras are GORGEOUS and a brilliant idea. I would be terribly, terribly tempted off my diet, which is such a struggle 🙁 Thank goodness these yummy fritters are so far away from me. Btw – I love braised pumpkin both Chinese and Japanese styles 🙂
this is lovely pakora looks wonderful
The batter must be super flavorful! Who can resist deep-fried vegetables? These look delicious.
They look fingerlicking! Love your spiced rice flour batter.
What an excellent idea! These pakoras will go down really well with my kids because they do not like pumpkin pies nor pumpkin cooked the chinese style. It is rare treat to have anything deep fried in our house. Will bookmark this to try very soon.
Mmmm… I know these were good!! The look perfect. 🙂
These pakoras look very appetizing. Thanks for sharing this original recipe. I’m also not ready for winter, I will love to savor autumn a little longer 🙂
Fried pumpkin – now that’s a first! I do love pakoras and have had it with potatoes, onions and broccoli, but never pumpkin. I tell you what – it looks delicious with pumpkin!!! Great job on the challenge!
Waa…labu goreng:D looks delicious! I love pumpkin in my bakes and cook with dried shrimps, I think it’s delicious but not my sons! oh well, more for me:D
You’re very creative Biren. This pumpkin fritter looks very delicious. I want to add this on my list too!
I have never heard of pumpkin pakoras. Other veggies yes, you are certainly very creative using pumpkins. Looks great and I bet they are addictive too! I love pumpkins!
Another interesting dish, never had those before but surely I would love them, like how I love pumpkin tempura