Buckwheat Pakora in Yoghurt Sauce
Kotu ke Dahi Pakore
Sushma Agarwal
Buckwheat is known by the names Kotu, Kootu, Kuttu, Kottoo. Dishes made from Kotu are popular during Hindu, religious fasts/fasting. Traditionally, Hindus are not allowed to eat ?cereals? when breaking their fast. Buckwheat is used to make poories or roties as well.
These pakoras can be served as part of a main meal, as a starter or as a snack. When searching for non-wheat/cereal Indian dishes on the internet, try looking for ?vrat ka khana? or ?foods for fasting?.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For Pakoras
1 cup buckwheat or kotu flour
1 tsp. salt (use ‘sendha namak’ or rock salt, when cooking as a fasting food)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Water to make a batter
Oil for deep frying
For Yoghurt Sauce:
2 cups fresh yoghurt or dahi
2 -3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. rock salt or sendha namak
1 tsp. dry roasted cumin seeds, coarsely ground
1/2 tsp. chilli powder
A little cumin powder and chilli powder extra, for garnish
Instructions
Make a batter from pakora ingredients and deep fry small ?blobs? or teaspoon full of batter. Keep aside on an absorbent paper.
Mix all sauce ingredients and beat gently. If the sauce looks too thick, add a little more milk. It should be of a custard like consistency.
Add pakoras to it and leave aside for a while. They will absorb some of the yoghurt.
Just before serving, stir them again and garnish with a sprinkling of cumin and chilli powder. Serve with Imli Chutney.
Notes
Kotu batter can be also used to make Potato/onion pakoras. Just slice a couple of potatoes/onions into discs, cover in batter, deep fry and serve with Tomato Ketchup or Green Mango Chutney
