Saas Bahu And Pakora

I have been watching a lot of movies after moving to Mumbai (not anything to do with being closer to Bollywood town) and that too in the theater/ multiplexes. I love watching movies, and most of our let's-watch-a-movie-tonight outings here were abrupt,unplanned decisions which worked better than organized, planned outings in Hyderabad. The last movie I watched in the theater and one of the first that I watched the same day of release (we went for the late night show the day this movie was released) was 'Saas Bahu Aur Sensex.'

I am not a movie critic, and I will only say that I liked the movie, especially Farooq Shaikh. I went for this movie only because of him:-), and I am glad I did. When I read Bharathy's lovely post for her sis, and remembered Nag's contest, I so wanted to post before the deadline. I am so forgetful, I never will be an early bird!

In the entire movie, the stockbroker and his ladies are not shown having chai together, but yes, they do meet close to tea-time to discuss stock market investments. The gossip ladies who follow Mrs. Bineetha Sen discover her 'interest' in the stock market while 'waiting and watching' over a cup of chai. I also liked bits of the 'Saas-Bahu' tiffs shown in the movie, especially the kitty party scene where the Saas belittles the Bahu on her Samosas (another chai snack). Somehow, I feel a nice hot chai snack is what goes for this contest, and therefore, decided on Pakoras.

And this post is dedicated to my friend J, who moved to a different city just when we were getting to be very good friends and our children were getting to fight with each other more often. We still are good friends, but distance doesn't help us have hot pakoras along with chai and discuss how to invest better for our children.


Finally, to make the pakora seen in the picture, you will need:

Besan/ gram flour/ garbanzo flour - 2 cups
Baking soda - a pinch
Onions - 4 large - sliced round and halved
Ginger - 2 tsp - peeled and pounded
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Cilantro - 1/2 cup - finely chopped (Optional - I didn't have at the time:-(, but I recommend it)
Green chillies - 2 - finely chopped (Optional - R doesn't like to bite into green chillies in any dish)
Red Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - per consistency
Oil - enough for deep frying

Method:

• Take about 2 tsp of oil and mix well with the baking soda in a mixing bowl, before adding the besan and remaining ingredients
• Make a thick batter with all the ingredients
• Heat oil in a deep frying pan and drop spoonfuls (I used a tablespoon) of batter into the oil
• Adjust heat to ensure that the pakoras do not get burnt, and keep frying until both side are done to a nice brown colour
• Drain the excess oil on kitchen napkins or tissues

Note: First, you can do a test fry, and see if it is absorbing too much oil, or the insides are cooked right, and adjust batter consistency with more besan, or more water accordingly

Serve hot with chutney and chai

Edited to add:

I just realized I missed another great event that I could send the pakoras to. Hima of SnackORama is hosting Sunday Snacks event with the theme Fry It for this month. I just love this event and followed the previous Bake It theme with awe, not to say that I missed it because I don't bake (yet! :-().