Indian food in the UK is really good. I have been watching come dine with me (I can watch endless cooking shows) and saw an Indian guy make pakoras and he fried them. All the diners commented how greasy they were so I thought I would have a go at baking them, they turned out so good I didn’t feel like I was eating healthy because the flavours and textures were delicious. I didn’t even notice the difference in the dip by using low fat natural yoghurt, it’s was a win win all round.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the pakoras

• 2 cups of chickpea flour (gram flour)
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1 level tsp of sea salt
• 2 tsp Garam masala
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 dried lime leaves, crumbled into small bits
• 2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 head of cauliflower, broken or cut into small florets
• 300g of fresh or frozen peas
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

For the dip

• 300g low fat natural yoghurt
• Small bunch of mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees fan.
2. In a mixing bow sieve in the gram flour. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and give it mix, set aside.
3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil over a medium heat in a small pan. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the shallots. Tip into the flour mixture along with the cauliflower florets, peas and coriander.
4. Add a cup of water and mix all of the ingredients. The texture should be like batter I needed to add about another 1/2 cup, I added it a little at a time until I got the right consistency.
5. Spray or use a grease proof baking tray. Spoon on a dessert spoon of the batter mix. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, flip and cook for further 10 minutes.
6. While the pakoras are baking mix the yoghurt and mint together.
7. To serve, place a handful of salad leaves on 2 serving plates. Spoon the yoghurt mix into 2 small dishes and serve alongside the salad and pakoras. Enjoy 😊