Recipe- Vegan And Gluten Free Baingan Pakora

Eggplant/ baingan pakora is a classic fritter in which thin slices of eggplant are dunked in a spiced gram flour batter and fried till golden. Enjoy this vegan and gluten-free snack any time of the day!

Pakora is like the Indian tempura. It's a fritter made with vegetables like onions, cauliflower, potatoes, spinach, or any vegetable you can think of. But instead of white all-purpose flour, the batter is made with gram/ chickpea flour, which makes the pakoras gluten-free.

Ingredients

1 Eggplant medium, cut into thin slices
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
¼ teaspoon Chaat Masala
¼ teaspoon Cumin powder
Oil for frying

For Gram Batter

1 cup Gram flour (Besan)
½ teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
½ teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
¼ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder adjust to taste
½ teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera powder)
½ teaspoon Chaat masala
⅓ cup Water plus more as needed to make the batter

For Serving

½ teaspoon Chaat Masala optional
Mint Cilantro Chutney
Tamarind Chutney

Method

- In a bowl, add all the batter ingredients including besan and spices. Add little water as needed to make a thick flowing batter. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

- Wash and dry the eggplant. Cut the eggplant into this slices. Sprinkle the spices just before you are ready to fry the eggplant - salt, Kashmiri red chili powder, chaat masala and cumin powder. Mix well.

- Heat oil in a kadai or deep fryer on medium-high flame. You can use any neutral tasting oil with a high smoking point.

- Take each eggplant slice and dip in the batter evenly to coat each side. Add carefully in the medium hot oil.

- Fry till the eggplant fritters are golden and crisp on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to turn them few times while they cook evenly.

- Using a slotted spoon, remove the baingan pakoras and transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil.

- Serve the eggplant pakora hot or warm with Indian green chutney or tomato ketchup. Sprinkle some chaat masala, and garnish with cilantro leaves.