Name: Shabbo Khala’s cauliflower pakoras (With spiced moong daal batter)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 6–8
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: ½ tsp chaat masala; 1 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves; ½ tsp ground coriander; 150–200 ml/5–7 fl oz/⅔-scant 1 cup vegetable oil; ½ cauliflower, cut into florets then florets sliced thinly vertically; 150 g/5 oz/1½ cups moong daal; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp red chilli powder; 2 tbsp water; ½ tsp ground turmeric

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
35 min

Appears in

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree

By Sumayya Usmani

Published 2016

About

In Pakistan, a mother’s closest friends are like maternal aunts and are called ‘Khala’. Every Khala has her secret recipes – this one is my Shabbo Khala’s. As a child I would excitedly anticipate meals at her house, hoping to get some of these thinly sliced cauliflower florets in spicy lentil batter.

Ingredients

150 g/5 oz/1½ cups moong daal
2

Method

To make the batter, soak the lentils in a bowl of water for at least 3 hours, or overnight, then drain and put them into a food processor or blender. Blend with the measured water until it is a smooth thick batter. Stir in all the spices, salt and chopped coriander.

Heat the oil in a wok-style pan over a medium heat. When the oil is smoking hot, reduce the heat to low.

Dip the s