If you have a few vegetables in the fridge, a sack of besan (flour milled from skinned and split brown chickpeas) in the pantry, and a well-stocked spice cabinet, you’ve got everything you need to fry up a batch of pakoras, the crispy, savory, two-bite fritters that are treasured throughout the Indian subcontinent.
Most vegetables fit neatly into the pakora template, offering loads of use-it-up flexibility: Chop or shred a mix of whatever vegetables you have on hand; season them liberally with fragrant spices and minced fresh chiles; add a little besan; and drizzle in water to create a scoopable batter. Deep-fry spoonfuls until the fritters develop a jumble of brown, spiky tendrils, and then serve them piping hot with assorted chutneys and milky cups of masala chai.
It’s a cozy, comforting snack that many, including Indian-born British chef Asma
