ONION PAKORA (PIAZ PAKORA)

• 150g chickpea flour, substituting up to 50g with plain flour to taste
• 2Tbs oil or oil/margarine
• 1TS Cumin (Jeera), roasted and ground
• Some lemon juice
• optional spices: roast and ground coriander seeds, garam masala, mild curry paste
• pinch salt
• 1-2 small green chilies, deseeded and finely chopped - or chili powder
• pinch baking powder (nobody else uses it, but I reckon it helps)
• 2 medium onions
• Oil for deep frying

Sieve flour, rub in fat, add spices, lemon juice, salt, chilies and slowly stir in water until the mixture becomes a smooth and thick batter. Whisk well until it becomes quite light in colour and stand for 1/2 hour.

Peel onions, slice thinly. Mix well with batter. Heat oil to 190~C (this is very hot and not always reached with domestic deep fat fryers). Shape about two tablespoons of the mixture into balls and deep fry until golden - do try a few to make sure they are't raw inside. You can also make onion-ring-style fritters.

This is a favourite starter, sometimes called Onion Bhaji (if there is a difference, please forgive me). You can use any vegetable, very good are peas or cauliflower (pre-cooked).

Pakora are slightly messy to make but *so* good. They are not quite as greasy as you might expect. Make just one or two with a spicy sauce as a starter, or more as a snack or great party food! You can make small ones and keep them hot in the oven, serve on toothpicks with dips