Kawan Foods- Vegetable Pakora Indian Style Bites.

[hoodedclawjen]

i tried these for the first time today: http://www.kawanfood.com/veat/indian.html

i ate a bit the size of a toonie, very slowly and suspciously. it freaked me right out from the get go. its got that seitan-type fibrous chewy pull-apart texture to it that makes me think of meat, even though i can't remember what meat is really like.

it doesn't look like any kinda food i'm familiar with, anyway. Definately not like any pakora i ever had, and i've had quite a lot of pakoras in my time if i do say so myself.

i think maybe it's trying to be like chicken. my canadian says he has no idea what its trying to be like, but it doesn't look like any chicken he ever saw or any pakora i ever made (and asked if its meant to look like that, or if perhaps i screwed up microwaving it- which i didn't).

its very very mildly spiced and a bit sweet and salty and smells rather odd and looks like a dried-up coughed-up cat hairball with slimey onion slivers and bits of leaf in it to me (not that i have much experience of that kinda thing). it leaves a weird taste in ones mouth thats not vegetarian tasting.

my canadian says its nothing like real meat, but approves it. apparently its "good- like those fake chicken skewer things you used to make me eat".

i'm still frightened. i will not purchase again. :cry:

anyone else tried this? is it just me?

[annaveggie]

hoodedclawjen,

i do not like the pakora veaty bites either - I call them mini fetuses and absolutely hate them. they are too greasy and have no flavour. I do however like the pandan style bites that have the lemongrass wrap. they taste pretty good. also the satay style sticks are good, especially of grilled on bbq or foreman. i like to eat these with some bbq sauce and tabasco mixed in.

[hoodedclawjen]

i'm soo glad its not me! i don't know what they thought they were doing, but i much prefer the pakoras i make myself :)

[sleepydvdr]

That's disappointing that they are not good. I wish I could find ready made pakoras in the store.

Now you've done it HCJ. I have to make pakoras for dinner tonight. :hungry:

[hoodedclawjen]

:drool: pakoras. i might make some too. i was gonna do chana masala but hmmm... pakoras could theoretically go with that :D

[sleepydvdr]

I was thinking of using one of these recipes:

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/desserts/pakoras.php

or

http://www.indiasnacks.com/recipe/637/Onion-Pakora-(Vengaya-Pakora).php

Of course, I'd leave out the ghee from the second recipe.

[hoodedclawjen]

i like to make it up as i go. garam masala is always good, but i also like to add slightly crushed roasted coriander and cumin seeds, and sometimes a bit of root ginger, and a smidge of lemon juice, cos i like those things. i hate cillantro so i use parsely instead sometimes, plus frozen peas, cauliflower.... all sorts. pakoras seem to come out pretty good whatever i throw in there. :)

[sleepydvdr]

I've never made them before. I have only had them from restaurants. I'll post pics in the Food Porn section tonight.

I need to buy a dipping sauce, too. My favorite is tamarind dipping sauce.

[hoodedclawjen]

blargh- tamarind! :cry: :lol: i'll probably end up with a cucumber raita.

[sleepydvdr]

Ooooh. That actually used to be my favorite dipping sauce. But I haven't had it since going vegan and forgot all about it. I could make my own. Good idea. That's what I'll do.

[hoodedclawjen]

yay! :D

[sleepydvdr]

Well, here's what happened: the HFS didn't have any chickpea flour, so I got a can of chickpeas and blended them up until smooth. I let the mixture sit for half an hour. I added all the ingredients and it tasted really good. Then when I put them in the oil, they just melted away and now I have a big oily mess. :cry: :furious:

The same thing happened to me last year when I tried to make falafel. People on VB said you have to let the chickpea mixture sit, so I did so this time. I think I'm just going to give up on trying to deep fry chickpeas. They obviously don't like me.

[hoodedclawjen]

Well, here's what happened: the HFS didn't have any chickpea flour, so I got a can of chickpeas and blended them up until smooth. I let the mixture sit for half an hour. I added all the ingredients and it tasted really good. Then when I put them in the oil, they just melted away and now I have a big oily mess. :cry: :furious:

The same thing happened to me last year when I tried to make falafel. People on VB said you have to let the chickpea mixture sit, so I did so this time. I think I'm just going to give up on trying to deep fry chickpeas. They obviously don't like me.

awwww. marks for effort and ingenuity, but yeah... no, you can't do that really. unless you want to make deepfried indian hummus. :think: which you possibly did.

you need proper chickpea flour. :( if you have an ethnic grocery nearby you may also find it labelled as besan flour or gram flour. i can't see how pureed canned chickpeas would ever deepfry. they're way too wet. sorry. :(

if you have any of your un-fried mixture left, if you also have potatoes, you could make some dry mashed potatoes (don't add liquid, just microwave and mash a spud) then put your chickpea mush in there, mix it in, form into little balls or burger shapes, add a little flour to coat them, and make croquettes or cutlets (which i'd bake, just incase your fryer is cursed).

[fadeaway1289]

its very very mildly spiced and a bit sweet and salty and smells rather odd and looks like a dried-up coughed-up cat hairball with slimey onion slivers and bits of leaf in it to me (not that i have much experience of that kinda thing). it leaves a weird taste in ones mouth thats not vegetarian tasting.



This description along with the "mini fetuses" comment has to be one of the most unappetizing, repulsive, puke worthy yet hilarious food reviews I've ever read. I've never seen these in stores but if I do all I will think about now are those descriptions.:lol:

[sleepydvdr]

No chickpeas this time. I made pakoras for lunch. Here's a pic:



These were much better than the deep fried Indian hummus! :yes:

[hoodedclawjen]

^^^ ooooooh! those look good. golden, crunchy, veggiepacked... :up: :drool: