T E M P T A T I O N S !

There are times, I must confess, I accept momentary Moral Bankruptcy by yielding to Temptation. I convince myself by saying " I am doing this just so that I can be in the good books of Temptation as I must not avoid it at all times, lest Temptation starts avoiding me when I grow old. Then there will be nothing to look forward to!

All good habits emerge from resisting temptation and that credits Moral Currency in one's Character account. Gosh how utterly abnormal and ahead of myself does this sound? Imagine life without temptations or an existence where one is able to resist all of them.

Food is my prime source of Temptation and no matter how much reason I try and apply I just don't succeed at all times. I may win the Set but only after conceding a few Games. When it comes to Pakoras, its GAME, SET, MATCH Pakoras!

To me Pakoras cannot exist in isolation. They embody three sacrosanct attributes; The Coating, The Object du Coating (Onions, Potatoes, Chili, Spinach, Baby Corn or other vegetables of choice) and last but not the least the CHUTNEYS. Its an amalgamation of these three Constituents which gives it the salacious power to break my resolve to nano-atom sized smithereens.

INGREDIENTS : 3 Potatoes, 3 Onions, 2 Cups Besan, 1 Cup Water, 4 Cups Oil, 2 Tsp Red Chili Powder, Salt to taste, 1/2 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste and 4 big pods of Garlic.

DIRECTIONS : Heat the Oil in a Wok. Wash Potatoes and Onions and cut into thin slices. Add water to Besan followed by Salt, Ginger/Garlic paste, Red Chili powder and 2 table spoons of very hot Oil and make a batter of semi thick consistency (for the Pakoras to turn out Crispy). Dip each piece of Potato Slices and Onion Rings into the batter till fully coated and fry until crisp. Once done remove them and drain the Oil on Kitchen Tissue (that takes away a lot of the guilt). Once the Pakoras are safely removed from the Wok you will see particles of crispy leftover Besan still floating on the Oil. Quickly add the Garlic Pods and fry until light brown and then remove.

But we are not done. The Chutneys are yet to make an entry. Two Standard Chutneys are Sweetish Imli Chutney and a Chili Paste slightly watered down to reduce its ability to become a Rocket launcher. But the Magic is in the third chutney which is made out of the fried Besan bits and Garlic Pods which are mashed together and become a coarse concoction, which gives body and a unique taste when Pakoras are dipped in the liquid chutneys first followed by this coarse Chutney which fondly clings to the Pakoras. It also tastes delicious when these Chutnies are applied on bread and eaten with Pakoras.

I have relived a fantasy of Culinary debauchery as I wrote this. Imagine what must have happened when I had an encounter with these Pakoras accompanied with the Chutneys.

I do my best to avoid temptations, UNLESS I can't resist them. And in this case I didn't!