Piles of pakora

I felt like an Indian feast last night, and you can't do that without having a starter of either bhajis or pakora! Since Andrew's not a huge bhaji fan, I decided to go with the pakora. The following is an adaptation of a recipe that was originally called peaflour patties, but that was clearly a slightly Anglocized pakora recipe. I've tweaked the seasonings a bit for my liking and added both a bit of baking powder and sparkling water to give them a bit of a lift and to make them a bit crispier. You can use any vege you like, although I'd definitely put some onion in them. Peas work well, finely chopped or grated potato (or sweet potato) is good (although if you chop it you'll have to cook them a bit longer/slower to make sure they are cooked through). Courgette is also great, but just use what ever you have or like.

Vege Pakora

1 cup chickpea flour (known as gram flour or besan flour)
1 tsp salt (or more depending on taste)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp chilli (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2-3/4 cup soda water
1-2 cups chopped or grated vege

Mix all dry ingredients together and add about 1/2 cup of the soda water. Mix to a stiff paste. Leave to sit for 5-10 minutes to let the flavours develop.
Add vege to the mix and add enough water to make the paste thickly coat the veges.
Heat about 1cm oil in a fry pan and then shallow fry the fritters until golden brown and cooked through.
Sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately with yoghurt/mint sauce.