By far the best part about working in the kitchen right now is that I get to work alongside their Indian Chef Ashok for 3 afternoons a week.
A very serious, yet funny man in his mid-fifties (I would guess) who started working in Indian kitchens as a dishwasher when he was only 6 years old.
He demands that you work hard and fast, and produce only excellent results. But at the same time, he is quite willing to explain techniques and has the patience to correct me when I've erred.
Pakoras:
One of my main duties in easing Ashok's workload is making vegetarian pakoras (fritters). The batter consists of chick-pea flower, water, whole cumin seeds, paprika, salt, and a dash of pepper. The ratio of chick-pea flower to water varies, depending on the type of Pakoras.
"Veggie Pakoras" consist of the batter, mixed with onions and chopped spinach. Here, the batter is more on the sticky side (ie lower water to chick-pea flower ratio). I use 3x5 lb bags of diced onions and a 5lb (?) bag of spinach. Probably about 15 to 20 cups of chick pea flower, and 3 litres of water. This all makes about 4 sheet pans full of pakoras. I use a 1oz (?) ice-cream style scooper to measure out the mix, and then plop it into the deep fryer. As soon as they have a golden yellow colour, I remove them for 1 to 2 minutes, then return into the deep fryer until somewhat browned. This "double-blanching" technique ensures that the Pakoras don't burn before they are cooked through. Once removed, I season with chaat masala.
"Eggplant Pakoras" are made with 1/3 inch round slices of eggplant. The slices are coated with a mix of vinegar and paprika. In this case, batter is mixed fairly runny (high water to flour ratio), in a large bowl. The eggplant rounds get flipped around in the batter bowl, then removed by pinching near the edges, so as to allow the batter to cover as much of the rounds as possible. Then, I give the round a quick shake over the bowl to remove excess batter, to spread it evenly, and to prevent batter from dripping onto the cooking pakoras (if it drips, onto them, then they will not come out smooth, but will instead have blemishes). The shaken eggplant is then placed into the deep fryer, where it cooks untouched for a few minutes. It must then be flipped gently with a wooden spoon (to prevent damage to the batter coating) and is then cooked for another few minutes. The goal is a golden colour with a few brown spots. Once both sides have reached this point, they are carefully removed onto tongs, and seasoned with chaat masala to taste.
"Cauliflower Pakoras" are made with florets of cauliflower, no larger than 2 inches in length and 1 to 1.5 inches of diameter at the floret end. We usually take the leftover batter from making the eggplant pakoras, and add a few cups of chick-pea flower to make it less runny. The batter is poared onto the bin of cut cauliflower, then tossed to coat the cauliflower evenly. The "double-blanching" frying technique, used for the veggie pakoras above, is again used here: fry the coated cauliflower until lightly golden, remove for a minute or two, then fry until thoroughly brown. Again, they are seasoned while hot with chaat masala to taste.
These pakoras are incredibly popular. You know they're great because everybody sneaks behind my back to grab a handful while they're hot and fresh.