Pakora Ka Rayta

From Time/Life’s Foods of the World - The Cooking of India, 1969:

To serve 4 to 6:

For the Pakora:

1/2 cup besan (chick-pea flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold water

Vegetable oil for deep frying

For the Yoghurt:

1 cup unflavored yoghurt, chilled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground hot red pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

In a deep bowl make a smooth, thin batter of the 1/2 cup of chick-pea flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the water, stirring them together with a spoon or with your fingers.

Pour 2 cups of vegetable oil into a 10-inch karhai or 12-inch wok, or pour oil into a deep fryer to a depth of 2 to 3 inches. Heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees on the thermostat or a deep-frying thermometer.

To shape the pakoras, hold a hand grater with openings 1/4-inch in diameter above the deep fryer, then pick up a little of the batter with your fingers and press it through the grater into the hot oil. In 30 seconds, or as soon as the pakoras are brown, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towels to drain.

Repeat this process until all the batter is fried. (There should be about 3/4 cup of pakoras.) Cool the pakoras to room temperature before using them.

Just before serving, stir the yoghurt, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of salt together in a small serving bowl. Gently fold half of the pakoras into the yoghurt mixture, and spread the rest of them on top. Sprinkle with red pepper and coriander.