Zucchinis are erupting from gardens left and right, and you cant even give them away anymore.
(Wait, could they work as baseball bats?)
Thats perfectly normal; take a deep breath.
Small scoops are dropped into hot oil and fried until brown and crisp.
They range from mild to spicy (with added chilis) and are darn delicious.
The brilliant part of making pakodas is that none of the vegetable juices are wasted.
Most American style fritters involve draining every last drop of water from the vegetable after theyre chopped or sliced.
Pakodas are far simpler.
The gram flour and other dry ingredients are mixed in, juices and all.
The following recipe uses about 20 ounces of julienned zucchini.
Thats about four medium-sized, or one or two of those monsters you pulled out of the garden.
Otherwise, zucchini is the star of the show.
Make this dish by first julienning all of the vegetables.
Thats about a 14-inch thick matchstick cut, keep them about two to three inches long.
For the half onion, just slice it and separate the half-moons.
The key is allowing the water in the vegetables to release.
Julienne half of the zucchini, add it to the bowl, sprinkle over a 12 teaspoon of salt.
Julienne the other half and add it to the bowl, and sprinkle on salt.
Add the cut carrots, salt.
Add the onion, salt.
Dont go over 2 teaspoons of salt, but there should be at least 1 teaspoon total in there.
Add the spices and aromatics.
When you return, youll see a pool of liquid at the bottom.
Add the dry ingredients and mix.
If its too dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time until the consistency is right.
After a minute or two, flip them to cook the other side until deeply golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and let cool on a drying rack.
The vegetables have all softened at this point so it should be relatively easy to bend them.
Theyll be all the crispier for it.
Once you get a taste of these crunchy, golden snacks, youll be planning the next batch.
Each bite is crisp on the outer edges with a slightly soft middle.
The spiced vegetable mixture is balanced, savory, fragrant, and veggie-forward in the most irresistible way.
This recipe makes 30-40 pakodas.
That may seem like a lot, but theyll disappear before your eyes.
Eat them immediately with an herbaceousgreen chutneyor allow them to cool and freeze them for up to a month.
They reheat well in a 350F oven.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until hot and crisp.
Mix in the garam masala, ginger, garlic and chopped herbs.
Toss the mixture thoroughly and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
It should sizzle raucously but not burn immediately.
Mix the gram flour and cornstarch into the vegetable bowl until a batter forms.
Adjust the batter if necessary by adding either more of the flour or more water.
Fry tablespoon-sized dollops of the battered vegetables until deeply golden brown, flipping as needed in the oil.
Drop onto paper towels to absorb excess oil, then move over to a wire drying rack.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
Reinvigorate them in the oven.
