Paneer Pakora in Vaisakhi!

We visited Surrey and enjoyed a sunny day celebrating the ancient harvest festival Vaisakhi! It's a high octane day commemorating the establishment of Sikh's Khalsa in 1699 and is also observed as the beginning of the Hindu solar new year. We were greeted with with an abundance of FREE tasty food, primarily donated by local businesses and loads of contagious high energy from the Surrey community.

Did you know: In Vancouver, Vaisakhi is celebrated during April and attracts close to 200,000 people, making it one of the

This was my first time at Vaisakhi and I was blown away by all the local community who came in droves to enjoy the parades, floats, live music, crowds and free food so graciously prepared by local residents and businesses.

Try this: Bring your own portable resusable containers and utensils to prevent unnecessarily using countless disposable containers that just end up piling up in our landfill. We did and even managed to neatly package some leftovers for lunch the next day!

In this Candice's Cusina's segment, we're featuring the Paneer Pakora. Paneer is a soft, unripened white cheese made from cow's milk while pakora is a deep-fried fritter that encases the paneer. Paneer Pakora, originated in South Asia, is typically served as a snack or appetizer.


Ingredients:

1 cup gram flour (chickpea flour)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
250 gms paneer (cut into thick squares)
Vegetable oil for frying
Mango chutney

Preparation:

1. Sift the gram flour into a medium bowl. Mix in the coriander, garam masala, tumeric, chili powder and salt.
2. Make a well in the center of the flower. Gradually pour the water into the well and mix to form a thick, smooth batter.
3. Over medium high heat in a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Dip and coat paneer in the gram flour batter then fry them in small batches until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels before serving piping hot with delicious mango chutney!

Did you know: Seva, meaning religious work, is the act of selfless service. So local residents and entrepreneurs who give out free food during Vaisakhi are practicing seva as it's considered an essential devotional service for many Dharmic religions.