A delicious crispy sweet 'n' spicy snack that is perfect for a fall snack or lunchbox addition, as well as being great for Halloween with its web-like appearance and "blood" red colour. Gluten free, sugar free, vegan.
- 4 small raw beetroot (or 2-3 large ones), grated
- 200 g (1 1/2 cups) gram (chickpea/garbanzo) flour
- a good pinch of sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander (cilantro)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 250 ml (1 cup) fizzy water
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil (not extra virgin) or coconut oil (ideally odourless - see notes*)
- 250 g (1 cup) full-fat plain yogurt (Greek is best, but natural or even coconut works here, too)
- pinch of sea salt
- sugar free hot chilli sauce (check ingredients - I use Encona Hot Sauce), to taste
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In a large bowl, mix the gram flour, salt and spices. Slowly whisk in the fizzy water to make a smooth batter. Mix the grated beetroot through the batter to coat. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or wok over high heat until it is smoking hot and a teaspoon of batter dropped into the pan sizzles as it hits (please cover your arms and be careful with the hot oil at this point!). Slowly drop in tablespoons of the beetroot batter into the hot oil and cook for about 3-4 minutes before turning with long tongs to cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes until golden, crispy and cooked through. Prepare a big plate or tray by lining it with a few pieces of kitchen roll and place the cooked pakoras on it to drain the excess oil. Cook in batches until all of the batter is gone.
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For the dip, mix the ingredients together, adding chilli sauce to taste (if my kids are having it I add just enough to give flavour without heat, but for just me or my husband I go a bit hotter).
*using extra virgin coconut oil will give these pakoras a slight coconut flavour. I like to use odourless (lightly steamed) coconut oil to keep a neutral flavour - I buy this one.