All the flavor of restaurant pakoras without leaving your home. These delicious and straightforward bites are packed with protein and vegetables, combining the nutrients of Chickapea shell pasta with a rainbow of colorful, healthy ingredients. They may seem intimidating, but they are in fact quite easy to make and are a great way to add some variety to your week. They are vegan, gluten-free and make great leftovers.

Vegetable Pakoras with Chickapea Shells

• Prep Time:  25 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time:  55 minutes
• Course: Appetizer
• Cuisine: Indian
• Servings:  12 people, 24-36 pieces

Pakora Ingredients:

• 1 package Chickapea shells
• 1 Tbsp salt, (for cooking pasta)
• 2 cups potatoes, shredded
• 2 large carrots, shredded
• 1 cup white onion, chopped finely
• 3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup spinach, chopped roughly
• 2 cups chickpea flour
• 1 ½ cups of water
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1- 1 ½ cups of vegetable oil for frying

• 2 cups cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 green chili pepper, minced (less or more depending on enjoyment of spice)
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp plain vegan yogurt or full fat coconut milk, unsweetened
• 1/4 tsp brown sugar
• ¼ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
• ¼ cup hot water

1. Prepare all vegetables to specified instructions.
2. Place shredded potatoes, shredded carrots, chopped white onion, chopped cilantro and chopped spinach in a large bowl, mix well.
3. In a. medium bowl, combine chickpea flour with water, slowly adding the water until a sticky batter is achieved.
4. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the chickpea flour.
5. Sprinkle in turmeric, cumin and salt into the chickpea flour, stir well to combine.
6. In a medium pan, heat 1 Tbsp of avocado oil over medium heat.
7. Add the ground coriander and red chili flakes to the hot oil and cook until toasted and fragrant (3-4 minutes).
8. Cook the Chickapea pasta shells to package specifications: heat 16 cups of water in a large pot over high heat until boiling. Add pasta and 1 Tbsp of salt to the water, decrease heat to maintain a gentle boil. Stir and cook pasta for 7 minutes.
9. Drain the pasta and add it to the large bowl of shredded and chopped vegetables along with chickpea flour batter and fried spices in oil.
10. Mix all ingredients together, gently but well.
11. In a medium-sized non-stick pan, add enough oil to have a ¼ to ½ inch of oil at the bottom of your pan.
12. Heat oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes to achieve the correct temperature of oil.
13. In the meantime, using a Tbsp measure, form the pakoras into balls, pushing slightly with your hands to ensure the pakoras are compact.
14. Set formed pakoras aside on a piece of parchment paper until the oil is hot.
15. Depending on the size of the pan, add 4-6 pakoras to the oil at a time, separated far enough not to touch.
16. Cook the pakoras on the first side until golden brown (roughly 30 seconds or a bit more).
17. Flip the pakoras and continue to cook until the second side is golden.
18. Once golden and fully cooked, remove the pakoras from the oil using two spatulas and place them on clean kitchen towels to cool.
19. Repeat the frying instructions for all the pakoras until all have been fried.
20. Allow the pakoras to cool for 2-3 minutes then serve with green chutney or sauce of choice.
21. Enjoy!

 Green Chutney Instructions:

1. Add the hot water and coconut to a blender and allow to sit while preparing other ingredients.
2. Add all other green chutney ingredients into the blender.
3. Pulse ingredients until combined.
4. Once combined well, turn the blender on to medium speed for as brief a time as possible to fully incorporate the ingredients. Do not over blend or the mixture will become a puree.

 Recipe Notes:

• If you don’t have chickpea flour, simply process 2 or more cups of dried chickpeas in a food processor for 8-10 minutes, stopping to push down the sides until ground into a fine powdery flour.
• Chutney recipe should make roughly 1 ½ cups.
• Store all unused chutney in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
• The pakoras will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. Simply reheat in the oven when ready to consume.