Pakora

Among the Muslim Cape Malays of South Africa, pakoras are known as dhaltjies, and are usually eaten as an appetizer during iftar, or as appetizers for weddings, births, or similar occasions. In southern states of India, such preparations are known as bajji rather than pakora. Usually the name of the vegetable that is deep fried is suffixed with bajji. For instance, potato bajji is sliced potato wrapped in batter and deep fried. In such states, pakoda is taken to mean a mix of finely cut onions, green chillies and spices mixed in gram flour. This is rolled into small balls or sprinkled straight in hot oil and fried. These pakodas are very crisp on the outside and medium soft to crisp inside. There is also a variety that is softer overall, usually termed medhu pakoda in restaurants, that is made of any other ingredients, such as potatoes.Pakoras are popular across Pakistan, where they generally resemble those found in India. They are sometimes served in a yoghurt based curry (salan), as a main dish, pakora kari, rather than as separate snacks. In this case the pakoras are generally doughier and are made of chopped potato, onion and chili mixed into the batter, instead of individual fried vegetable slices.