Indian Vegetable Fritters: Pakoras

"Pakoras" are fried "clumps" of seasoned batter made of chickpea flour which is filled with a mixture of chopped vegetables, or just individual vegetables like onion, cauliflower or chili peppers (mild or hot). Another word used for them in India is "pakoda," although potatoes fixed this same general way are generally called "bajii" or "bhaji."* Pakoras are often served with tea or spiced tea (masala chai) and some also serve some chutney on the side. Myself, I like some ranch dressing for dipping. To make your own ranch dressing, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/06/homemade-ranch-dressing.html 

Pakoras are easy to make and I made mine somewhat larger than is likely typical in India (most recipes call for the use of a tablespoon of batter, but I used a serving spoon). Once you are ready to cook, fry the pakoras in batches and do not overcrowd the pan or they will likely soak up the oil and become soggy. The temperature of the oil has to be maintained (350 F, about 180 C), and a small cube of bread should sizzle and brown when dropped into the oil. Remove each batch of fried pakoras with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Also remove any small bits that may have broken off into the oil while frying, or these bits will burn and discolor the oil, as well as imparting their burnt flavor to the oil and to the next batches of pakoras. 

Ingredients (for about 15 to 25 pakoras, depending upon the size):

1  2/3 cups chickpea flour
2/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (according to your heat preference)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped (larger pieces likely won't cook properly)
1/4 cup mild green chili pepper, like banana pepper, chopped
1/4 cup mild red pepper, like red bell pepper, chopped
1 to 2 green hot chili peppers (I use serranos), seeded and finely chopped (again, according to your heat preference)
1/4 cup chopped spinach leaves (no stems)
1/4 cup coriander/cilantro leaves
water (enough to make a thick batter)
oil for frying

In a bowl add the chickpea flour, baking powder, ground red pepper, turmeric, garlic, ginger and salt; mix together well. Now add the chopped vegetables and the coriander/cilantro leaves. Slowly add water and mix to incorporate the water until a thick batter forms. I use my hand to do the mixing. The batter should be a bit thicker than pancake batter. Let the batter sit while the oil heats, then use a table spoon (or the somewhat larger serving spoon) and put the batter into the hot oil. Fry the pakoras in small batches until they are golden brown, which should only take a few minutes for each batch. If you use a smaller amount of oil that won't cover the pakoras, you will need to turn the pakoras to cook them on both sides.

* For such a recipe for potatoes, here is a link. This is based upon heavy Indian influence in Kenya, where the potatoes are called "bhajias" : https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/kenyan-potato-bites-potato-bhajias.html

WORD HISTORY:
Bungalow-This word for a "low level one story house" is related to "Bangladesh" and to "Bengal," words from the Indian subcontinent borrowed by English. The origin of the word likely goes back to the name of an ancient god from some parts of the Indian subcontinent which formed the basis of the words "Bengal" and "Bengali." Transliterated Hindi, an Indo European language, and one of the main languages of the Indian subcontinent, had "bangla," which meant "a low level house with a thatched roof." This gave Gujarati, an Indo European language now spoken by about 60 million in the Gujarat area of India, the transliterated "bangalo," with the same general meaning. English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1600s from Hindi and Gujarati from British involvement in India and it conveyed the meaning, "low level house of the Bengali style, with a covered terrace." 

Indian Pancake: Cheela/Chilla

"Cheela," also spelled "chilla," are a kind of pancake made from chickpea flour in India. While they are a common item for breakfast, they are also eaten at other times of day. Some Indians make them with varying amounts of grated or finely chopped vegetables cooked into the batter, like chopped tomato, coriander (cilantro), onion or garlic, and they make the pancakes a "little" thicker. Others make them thinner, like a crepe, and then they place veggies on top and roll them or fold them over, or they simply put butter or ghee (clarified butter) on them. I've chosen to just go somewhat straightforward here so you get the idea, but the overwhelming number of recipes I've seen have fresh chili pepper as an ingredient, but if you don't like "hot" foods, these don't have to be made to make you cringe from the heat, but you can seed the chili and just use perhaps 1/2 of it. These are very easy to make. I got four 7 inch diameter and thin pancakes from the recipe below.    

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour
3/4 cup water (more if batter is too thick)
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 green chili, finely chopped (jalapeño or serrano, you can seed them, or leave the seeds for heat)
oil for frying

Mix together the flour, turmeric, salt and finely chopped green chili, then slowly stir in the water to form a batter. The batter should be fairly loose, but with a little body to it, like the consistency of heavy cream. Let the batter sit for about 15 minutes, then stir again. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add about a 1/4 teaspoon of oil to the skillet and swirl the oil in the skillet to coat the bottom of the pan. Put a ladle of batter into the heated skillet and smooth it out with the underside of the ladle. When the top of the pancake is set, sprinkle a little oil (about 1/4 teaspoon) around the edges and tilt the pan so that the oil runs down the outside edges of the pancakes. This will help the edges to crisp up somewhat. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side. The pancake should be lightly browned on both sides, but if there are some darker brown spots on it, that is certainly not against the rules. Serve the pancakes warm.

I just put some butter on the chillla I fixed, and I had a couple of tomato slices and some fresh coriander (cilantro)

WORD HISTORY: 
Anomaly-Part of this word is distantly related, through Indo European, to "same," a word from the Germanic roots of English, as well as to words beginning with "homo-," like "homogenize," "homonym," "homosexual," and others, with that prefix going back to Greek. "Anomaly" goes back to the Indo European root "sem," which had the notion of "one, together, united." This gave Indo European "samos/somos"), which meant "same." This gave Ancient Greek "homo(s)," which meant, "same." This produced "homolos," meaning, "even, level." Greek also had "an," meaning, "not, not having, without," from Indo European "ne," with the general meaning "not." This was then put together in Greek as "anomalos," literally, "not even;" thus also, "irregular." This produced the Greek noun "anomalia," meaning, "(an) inequality, (an) irregularity, an unevenness." This was borrowed by Latin as "anomalia," with the same meanings, and English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1500s, but it was in the second half of the 1600s that the word solidified in the general meaning still with us today, "an irregularity, a defect, something that breaks with common practice." 

Visit the Riviera at Home: Socca/Farinata

"Socca," also called, "farinata" in Italian, is a flatbread made from chickpea flour and it is a specialty of the Liguria region in northwestern Italy and also across the Franco-Italian border into the city of Nice in France. "Nice" in French, and "Nizza" in Italian, the area was part of Italy (actually the Kingdom of Sardinia, the forerunner of the modern united Italian nation) after Napoleon's defeat until 1860, when a treaty allowed it to be annexed to France, then under Napoleon III. The modern Italian border lies a little less than 25 miles away. This flatbread has its roots in the Liguria region of Italy, the coastal area of northwestern Italy, also known as the "Italian Riviera," which has Genoa as its most prominent city, as well as its capital, but it is also a specialty of Nice. The outside is crisp, but the inside should be soft and kind of creamy. You can eat the bread with a little salt and olive oil, or you can use any number of toppings on it, even making it into a pizza, which if you use the Italian form of Nice, you could call, "a Nizza pizza," and you could say, "Give me a piece o' Nizza pizza."

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup barely lukewarm water
1/2 tablespoon olive oil (more for pan & topping)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 teaspoon salt

Mix together the ingredients (a whisk is good to use), slowly adding the water while whisking, taking care to eliminate any lumps. Cover the batter and let it stand for about 45 minutes. Turn on the broiler of your oven. Also turn on the large burner of your stove top to medium high. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a 9 inch to 10 inch cast iron skillet.* Heat the skillet on the stove top until it just begins to smoke. Swirl the hot oil around in the pan, so that it coats part way up the sides of the skillet. Add the batter into the hot skillet, swirling the batter to form an even layer over the entire bottom of the skillet. Once the batter is "set" in the skillet and the edges begin to sizzle, remove the skillet from the stove top and place it on the oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler. Broil until the top is brown and it has some dark brown to even blackened spots on it. Serving: cut into wedges, sprinkle each with a little salt and pepper, then add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil onto each wedge.   

* In the Riviera region they have special pans for making socca/farinata, which are typically cast iron pizza pans. 

WORD HISTORY:
River/Riviera-These words are distantly related to "riven" and "rift," both of North Germanic origin from the Germanic form from Indo European. "River" goes back to Indo European "reip," which had the notion, "to tear, to tear through, to tear apart, to cut into." This gave Latin "ripa," meaning, "seashore, embankment/bank of a river," both from the idea of "land forms made by water 'cutting' through or into land." This then produced the Latin adjective, "riparius," meaning, "of or from a (river)bank (and also, 'a seashore?')," which then produced the noun  "riparia," meaning, "a riverbank, a seashore," but also the idea of "riverbank" began to be applied to the "flowing water that formed the banks;" thus, the meaning, "river." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "riviere," meaning, "river, riverbank." This was taken to England by the Normans as "rivere," meaning, "river," and this was borrowed into English in the first part of the 1200s. The Old French word was taken by Italian as "riviera," with the idea of "embankment/bank," taking the meaning, "shore, coast" in Italian, "seemingly" especially applied to the coast of the Genoa area by the mid 1600s, including in English, but then expanded to mean the coastline in northwestern Italy and into southern France in the 1800s, as this overall general area was a retreat many well to do Europeans used in winter.