P for Pangoji (Spicy prawn fritters)

Every PP household worth its salt serves this tea-time delicacy with some regularity. I know I certainly had my share of these in my childhood – vegetarian pangoji on Mondays or Thursdays and pangoji with prawns on any other day. For a true PP, fish or prawns are welcome, no matter what time of day it is!

Pangoji is a dish of anticipation. The wait is as exciting as the dish itself, as anyone who has eaten these will know. It needs the batter to be left to ferment for 4-5 hours, and to us kids, this was way too long. We would be watching the clock every 15 minutes. (It was our version of ‘are we there yet’…)

Be warned, though, these are very addictive, and if you’re watching the calories, make sure you only make these in small batches. It’s the only way to manage portion control with this one.

P for Pangoji

Ingredients:

125 grams (about 1 cup) wholemeal flour (atta)

1-2 green chillies, finely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

1 teaspoon fenugreek (methi) seeds

a handful of prawns, deveined, cleaned and chopped (Optional)

salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

a handful of coriander leaves, chopped

oil to fry

Method:

1. Grind the cumin and fenugreek seeds to a fine powder. It is this combination that gives the pangoji their distinctive flavour.
2. Next, in a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, cumin-fenugreek powder, green chillies. Add a little water to make a thick batter. (It should be thicker than dosa/ pancake batter.) Add the baking powder and coriander and mix well.
3. If you are using the prawns, add these into the batter now.
4. Cover the batter and leave it to ferment for about 4-5 hours so that it turns slightly frothy. This helps make the pangoji light fritters instead of turning into stodgy oil sponges.
5. After it has rested for the 4-5 hours, heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Drop the batter one spoonful at a time and fry these on medium high heat.
6. When they turn evenly golden, use a slotted spoon to drain the oil and place the pangoji on a kitchen towel.
7. Serve hot, possibly with ketchup, if you can be bothered to fetch the bottle while the family attack the serving bowl.