Pan-Fried Pakora with Coriander and Pepita Pesto

Planning your Diwali food menu? Our take on aloo pakora is deceptively easy, and saves you the hassle of deep frying at home.

Serves 2-4

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 500g potatoes (approx)
• 250g red onion
• 250g white cabbage (optional)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 bunch coriander
• 1/2 cup chickpea/gram flour
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 2 tbsp Boom Chili Seasoning Salt
• ¼ cup cooking oil
• 2 tbsp Mogambo Roasted Garlic Condiment
• 4 tbsp roasted pepitas
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method: 

1. Thinly slice the onion and cabbage. In a bowl, mix the onion, cabbage and the salt. Set aaside and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400f.
2. Halve the potatoes, and thinly slice. Add to the onion and cabbage, along with the chickpea/gram flour, ½ of the ginger (grated), ½ the Mogambo, the Boom, and a handful of the coriander (sliced). When stirred, the mix should hold together, you might need to add a little a couple tbsp of water, but slowly add until the mix just holds together. 
3. Heat the pan over a med-high heat, and add the oil. In your hands, form the mixture into small patties, around 2 inches wide, and place in the pan. Allow to brown, approx 2-3 minutes, and flip. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes, place onto a lined tray, and bake for around 20-25 minutes until cooked through. 
4. While the pakoras cook, make the pesto. Add the ginger, coriander, pepitas, lemon juice and the remaining Mogambo to a small blender, and pulse until coarse, but no large chunks remain. 
5. When cooked, serve the pakoras with the pesto on the side. 

Chefs Notes: We used cabbage, but you can be creative and add whatever’s in your fridge. Peas, cauliflower, zucchini all work well, but experiment and make the dish your own.