Pakoras are usually served as snacks or appetizers. In the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland, pakoras are popular as a fast foodsnack, available in Indian and Pakistani takeaways as an alternative to chips or kebabs.
Among the Muslim Cape Malays of South Africa, pakoras are known as dhaltjies, and are usually eaten as an appetizer duringIftar, or as appetizers for weddings, births, or similar occasions.
In southern India, pakoras as described above are known as bajji rather than pakoda. For it to be a pakoda, a mix of finely cut onions, green chillies for flavour and gram flour is fried rather than dipping the onions in a batter and frying them. Unlike the pakoras of the north, this onion pakoda is very crispy outside and medium soft to crispy inside. There is also a variety that is softer overall, usually termed Medhu Pakoda in restaurants. If it is relatively softer (like the pakoras) and made of any other ingredients such as potatoes etc. dipped in a gram flour batter and fried, then it will be usually called Bajji with the name of the vegetable/ingredient optionally prefixed to it.
Heat a grill to medium (350 degrees F). Leave bananas in their skins and make 1 slit down the length of each banana. Pack the slits with brown sugar.
Put the banana(s) on the grill and grill until soft and charred, about 5 minutes. Remove them to a cutting board and set aside to cool slightly. Peel the skins from the bananas and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Meanwhile, put the marshmallows on skewers and toast over the grill until brown and melty, about 2 minutes. You can also brown the marshmallows using a hand-held torch.
To assemble, spread some peanut butter on graham crackers and top with bananas and marshmallows. Cover with another cracker and serve. Enjoy!
We brought the breakfast home. By then the time was well past noon and I thought it was time well spent. The 30 minutes experience of buying breakfast was a live course on human anthropology and behaviors of Pakistani society.
The breakfast itself proved to be a good buy. There were ‘puris’ in it as well as two different curries made from chick peas and potatoes (tarkaari). There were some pickles to go with the curries and above all there was a very tasty halwa (sweet dessert). After eating this heavy duty meal nobody in our family was ready to have another meal for several hours.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of buying and eating halwa puri from a local vendor after several years.
Photo Credits: Title photo by Ejaz Khan
Dhamthal sweets had set up breakfast tables on a covered side walk. On one table a whole cricket team was sitting and enjoying greasy puris with boistering talk of cricket heroics. At another table a whole extended family was sharing family gossips over niwalas of sweet halwa.
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Customer cars were double parked on the main road interjected with motorcycles between them. Amidst all this hustle bustle a queue of take away customers was waving around the sidewalk like a snake. This queue was atleast twenty five people long and I was standing at position 25.
Look at the photo below which I took on the occasion and it shows the scene that I described above.
Dhamthal sweets had set up breakfast tables on a covered side walk. On one table a whole cricket team was sitting and enjoying greasy puris with boistering talk of cricket heroics. At another table a whole extended family was sharing family gossips over niwalas of sweet halwa.
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Customer cars were double parked on the main road interjected with motorcycles between them. Amidst all this hustle bustle a queue of take away customers was waving around the sidewalk like a snake. This queue was atleast twenty five people long and I was standing at position 25.
Look at the photo below which I took on the occasion and it shows the scene that I described above.
Pakoras are usually served as snacks or appetizers. In the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland, pakoras are popular as a fast food snack, available in Indian and Pakistani takeaways as an alternative to chips or kebabs.
Among the Muslim Cape Malays of South Africa, pakoras are known as dhaltjies, and are usually eaten as an appetizer during Iftar, or as appetizers for weddings, births, or similar occasions.
In southern India, pakoras as described above are known as bajji rather than pakoda. For it to be a pakoda, a mix of finely cut onions, green chillies for flavour and gram flour is fried rather than dipping the onions in a batter and frying them. Unlike the pakoras of the north, this onion pakoda is very crispy outside and medium soft to crispy inside. There is also a variety that is softer overall, usually termed Medhu Pakoda in restaurants. If it is relatively softer (like the pakoras) and made of any other ingredients such as potatoes etc. dipped in a gram flour batter and fried, then it will be usually called Bajji with the name of the vegetable/ingredient optionally prefixed to it.