Nothing fritter about it!

Pakoras may have got a bad rep today, but for ages, these fried globes of deliciousness have been an essential part of Iftar, notes Monalisa Kar

Pakoras or as the famous colonial chef William Harold is said to have once proclaimed, “a crunchy assortment of devilish deliciousness,” may have got the bad reputation of being a fried delicacy but it has remained one of the tastiest, readily addictive aspects of our cuisine. Not just as a teatime snack that brightens the chai experience or the rainy day tiramisu that can make an otherwise dull, wet day, romantic, but also as the definite tastemaker in our thalis. In fact, no Indian thali is complete without the presence of fritters, and this also includes the one for vrat as well as Iftar — the meal that marks the end of the day-long fasting during the holy month of Ramadan or Ramzan.

This makes one wonder, how did something that today regularly features in the “unhealthy” segment get chosen as a mode of nourishment, especially after a day of fasting? To know this, says culinary anthropologist Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, “one needs to understand how did pakoras originate?”

Unlike how pakoras are perceived today, the reason pakoras were created wasn’t only the taste that the fritters are high on fat thanks to the amount of fat used to prepare them, but as a method through which one could enjoy seasonal produce in all its nutritive goodness.” This, he continues, “perhaps explains why the focus of pakoras, which is one of the finest chapters of the great Indian culinary ledger, the focus was on the batter. The selection of the ingredients used for the batter was based on two crucial factors: one, it could take on flavours with ease and was versatile enough to be paired with a number of vegetables, tuber, leafy, roots, fruits and the like; and two, it would help rehydrate and nourish. That despite it going through deep or shallow frying where the crispness is created when hot oil dries the moisture of the surface of the batter turning it crisp.”

The search eventually squared on quite a few batter ingredients, though besan and rice took precedence, and eventually became popular pan-India. Where, says seasoned Chef Nimish Bhatia, “besan and rice scored over other millets and grains because the former two were easily available in the country. Rice was an established staple by the first century and grew in most parts of India, and besan had gained popularity as a flour because of its ease on the palate taste and mobility. The merchant community owns much of the credit in popularising besan across the length and breadth of the country.”

Another factor that earned besan the extra brownie point was also the easiness with which it paired with different produce, adds Chef Bhatia, “and beautifully complemented to their taste, even bringing to the fore the subtle nuances of the produce. Likewise, the usage of rice in the batter ensured that it absorbed less oil while scoring on the crispness. The taste, texture and mouthfeel became the prime reason for pakoras making an entry not only as a snack — after all, even back in the day our palates knew the pleasure of deep-fried delicacies like vada and malpua — but as an essential — (read: taste) in our thali.” Thanks to their unforgettable taste and their role as a technique that preserved the natural nutrients, especially the fresh produce that were too delicate to stir fry earned pakoras their wellness stripes in Rasayana Veda, and eventually saw them becoming a part of the fasting meals. But was the taste and technique supremacy enough to get pakoras a place in the fasting meal, especially in Iftar which is the first meal after a long day of fasting? Partly, says food explorer Zamir Khan, “the beauty about pakoras, especially those made with besan, is their deliciousness.

Pakoras when rightly spiced and fried properly, retain enough fat that instantly coats your tongue to help you enjoy food well. Also, given that the batter has been dehydrated, pakoras are easy to digest, giving that boost of energy to the mind and body that you instantly feel rejuvenated. And lastly, the taste factor enables one to keep the mouth rehydrated. In fact, pakoras have this amazing ability to give you that sense of instant gratification that keeps one from going overboard, especially in the first few days of Ramzan when even the most hardened fasters can be enticed to go overboard with food, which can easily send the body into a sudden shock.”

This, adds Khan, “fine understanding of how a body that has been through a long session of intermittent fasting was behind pakoras debuting into the Iftar meal, which in its initial iteration was nothing more than dates. It is said that Prophet Mohammad broke his fast by eating one single date.”

The other reason behind the presence of fritters in the Iftar meal, says nutritional therapist, Shaveta Bhassin, “is besan’s low Glycemic Index that ensures that there is a constant supply of energy to the body along with important nutrients like iron, phosphorous, unsaturated fat, protein (after all it is made of chana dal), among others. And for a long time. Also, a good dose of soluble fibre, which works the coronary function of the body.”

But, adds Shaveta, “the biggest nutritive value addition that pakora brings to the wellness table is that of produce within, which is cooked in the most nutritive way and more than often falls in the correct manner of eating the vegetable, the value of which can be fortified with the right spices and herbs added in the batter.”

No wonder, the traditional Iftar meal always has a new seasonal combination every single day, and the trick, says the expert, “to have them without guilt is within limits.”