A Treat for Rainy Day Teatimes

The great thing about being indoors on a wet rainy day is that you can quickly whip up some hot tea and snacks – and then sit by the window or on a balcony, enjoying the wonderful weather. The Monsoon certainly seems to make the tea and snacks taste a lot better!

Today, let’s make another traditional snack that’s just perfect for overcast, rain-washed days – Makki Paneer Pakora. This is a deep-fried delicacy made with Sweet Corn (Makki) and Indian Cottage Cheese (Paneer). And to add a dash of health to this snack, we will be using cold-pressed Mustard Oil as the frying medium.

So let’s start gathering the ingredients that you will require.

Ingredients:

1. Sweet Corn (Makki): 150 grams

2. Cottage Cheese (Paneer): 100 grams

3. Onion: 30 grams

4. Gram Flour (Besan): 30 grams

5. Mustard Oil: 100 millilitres

6. Curry Leaves: 10

7. Coriander (Dhania) Leaves: 30 grams

8. Ginger (Adrak): One half-inch piece

9. Fennel (Saunf) Seeds: 1 teaspoon

10. Green Chillies: 2

11. Salt: To taste

The quantities mentioned above are for two servings. Adjust the ingredients proportionately to suit the number of servings you require.

Preparation:

Grate the cottage cheese.

Finely chop the onion.

Finely chop the curry leaves.

Finely chop the coriander leaves.

Coarsely chop the green chillies.

Coarsely chop the ginger.

Method:

In a food processor, take the green chillies, ginger and fennel seeds. Grind then into a coarse dry paste.

Next, add the sweet corn to the food processor and dry-grind.

Transfer the contents of the food processor to a mixing bowl. Add the cottage cheese, onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves, gram flour and salt. Mix well.

Add a little water to the mixing bowl – not too much, just enough to make a thick batter. Divide the batter into equal portions. Keep aside.

Heat the Mustard Oil in a pan on a Medium flame till the oil reaches its smoking point and emits whiffs of aromatic white smoke. Then reduce the flame to Low. Deep-fry the portions of batter that you had kept aside. Fry evenly till the batter turns golden-brown in colour.

Deep-fry the batter in batches to ensure your Pakoras don’t get burnt. You can place the deep-fried Pakoras on paper towels to drain the excess oil if you wish. It isn’t necessary because we have used healthy cold-pressed Mustard Oil for deep-frying. Moreover, Mustard Oil is proven to be absorbed into your food in very small quantities while frying. The choice is yours – it depends on whether you like your fried food to be dry or a bit oily.

Your traditional Makki Paneer Pakora is now ready. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup or chutney. Enjoy them with a steaming hot cup of tea as you stare at the rain-drenched city outside your window. So relaxing!

You can find more recipes at : https://www.purioilmills.com/recipes-in-english/

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