Crescendo: Aleppo-Cocoa Pakora with Cherrywood Salt
Prep20 minsCook25 minsServes4
Spice: Crescendo Spice Blend
Pour: 2023 The Secret
Pour: 2023 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Ingredients
BATTER: 1 1/2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
3 tbsp rice flour, for crunch
1 1/2 tbsp LXV Crescendo Spice Blend
1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
About 1 cup ice-cold sparkling water
VEGETABLES: 1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin half-moons
1 small russet potato, sliced paper thin
1 cup cauliflower, broken into small florets
12 large spinach leaves, stems removed
2 green chilies, slit
Neutral oil, for deep frying
TO FINISH: cherrywood-smoked or flaky sea salt, lime wedges, cilantro-mint chutney
Method
Whisk the besan, rice flour, LXV Crescendo Spice Blend, ajwain, baking soda and salt together.
Whisk in the ice-cold sparkling water gradually until the batter is the thickness of heavy cream — it should coat a slice of onion without sliding off. Rest it in the refrigerator 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, salt the sliced onion lightly and let it sit 10 minutes, then pat it dry. Keep the other vegetables completely dry.
Heat 3 inches of oil to 340°F. Test with a drop of batter: it should sink briefly, then rise and sizzle steadily.
Working in small batches, dip the vegetables in the batter, let the excess drip off, and lower them into the oil. Fry 3-4 minutes until pale gold and set, then lift onto a rack.
Once all the pakoras have had a first fry, raise the oil to 375°F and fry each batch a second time for 1-2 minutes until deep golden and audibly crisp. Double-frying is what keeps them crunchy long enough to reach the table.
Drain on a rack and season immediately with cherrywood-smoked salt while they are still glistening.
Serve with lime wedges and cilantro-mint chutney — and pour the red before they cool.