Kasi Kakharu Pakudi

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When it comes to snacking, Odiyas are known for their love for deep fried food. In the pre-pandemic era, I used to get super jealous of my friends & family members who are in Odisha and who go out every single evening & get a load of the yummy, heavenly-smelling, deep fried goodies at the street corner "Thela Gaadi"(Open trailer where the food is prepared & served by the shopkeeper) or "Bhaina's tea stall" (Bhaina : Big brother) or "Mitha Dokaan" (Sweets stall but they have delicious snacks like samosas, vegetable chop etc etc). 




Come pandemic, since the lock down is in place, all my friends & family members often complain of not been able to go out & enjoy these goodies. Well, good for them that they get fresh produce to make these snacks at home (or someone in their household will make it for them). 

Now, comparing myself with them (I know, I know.. it's not a good idea at all), I feel like I have the short end of the (snacks) stick. LOL.

The situation with me is, I am a HUGE fan of deep friend snacks especially Pakudi (Pakoras). They are gluten free & yes they are high on carbs but we can always think about eating carefully & still enjoying the foods that we eat. Making pakudi is not such a big task if you have all the stuff chopped & ready with you. The problem comes when you make a LOT & then you have to eat them ALL. Ha ha ha....

Well, we had this lovely young green pumpkin in our backyard that I made a yummy kakharu raaee with. We still had some more left so I thought of making pakudi with it. Yes... We can make pakoras with green young pumpkin & they taste awesome !!


What I used..

  • 1.5 cups of thinly sliced green young pumpkin
  • 1/3 cup of thinly slides red onions
  • 7-8 curry leaves chopped fine
  • small piece of ginger - chopped finely
  • 4 tbsp Besan
  • 1 tbsp rice flour
  • salt + turmeric + Kashmiri red chili powder + black salt + wee bit pani puri masala (dry powder) + 1/2 tsp kala jeera (nigella seeds)
  • Water to make the batter
  • Oil to deep fry the pakoras
  • Deep wok or Kadai 
  • Stainless steel Spatula with holes in it to take the pakoras out of the oil

Process
  • Mix all ingredients except the water & oil in a bowl that is easy to mix stuff in
  • Gradually add water to get a flowing consistency - Should drop when you tilt the spoon
  • Heat oil to deep fry in a deep wok or kadai. 
  • Drop a small droplet of batter into the oil to check the temperature.
  • If the batter comes up right way, oil is ready. 
  • Drop spoon full of batter into the hot oil & deep fry on medium heat until pakoras are brown in color. 
  • Serve hot with hot ketchup

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