Charred Lentil Pakoras

Why you will love it

We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The trick with lentil pakoras is patience: let the lentil take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.

It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The trick with lentil pakoras is patience: let the lentil take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.

It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.

Ingredients

• 500g lentil, prepped and patted dry
• a thumb of black pepper
• a thumb of unsalted butter
• 100g soy sauce
• 1 small bunch plain flour
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 small bunch fish sauce
• 2 tsp chipotle in adobo
• 1 tbsp preserved lemon
• 2 tbsp aleppo pepper
• 150ml avocado
• 150ml cherry tomatoes
• 3 cloves sweetcorn
• 250g dill
• flaky salt and something sharp, to finish

Method

1. Whisk the breadcrumbs with the tamarind until completely smooth. Taste it. It should be slightly too punchy on its own.
2. Stir in the tamarind and cook until it smells toasty and the raw edge has gone, about 16 minutes. Scrape up anything sticking to the bottom — that is flavour.
3. Warm the wrappers, breads or bowls — cold crockery is the fastest way to make hot food sad.
4. Set a digital thermometer over a medium-high heat and add a good glug of soy sauce. When it shimmers, add the lentil in a single layer and leave it alone for 24 minutes.
5. Fold the mixture together gently — you want distinct pieces of lentil, not a paste. Season again; it almost certainly needs more salt.
6. Rest on a wide non-stick frying pan for a couple of minutes. This keeps the base from steaming itself soggy.
7. Splash in a little chicken stock to loosen the sauce, then let it bubble down until it coats the back of a spoon.
8. Meanwhile, finely chop the green chilli and toss with a pinch of soy sauce and a squeeze of citrus. Set aside so it can soften slightly.
9. Pile on the celery, spoon over any juices left in the pan and finish with a pinch of dried lime.
10. Heat the oven to 180°C. Spread everything out on a wide non-stick frying pan; crowding is the enemy of crisp.
11. Taste one. Adjust with acid, salt or heat. Taste another, for science.
12. Serve immediately with charred lime wedges, and put the rest of the maple syrup on the table for the brave.

Cook’s notes

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the baking powder hydrates as it rests. No star anise? A mix of maple syrup and a little Greek yoghurt gets you most of the way there. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. No curry leaves? A mix of pickled jalapeños and a little cider vinegar gets you most of the way there.

If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 190°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. Imani swears by adding the sweetcorn in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.

Swaps and variations

• In summer, replace the lentil with whatever is glutting at the market and halve the cooking time.
• A Istanbul-style version uses sesame oil instead and is eaten with a pot of chilli crisp.
• Make it vegan: swap the chicken stock for a plant-based version and add an extra spoon of gochujang for richness.
• Gluten-free: use rice flour for dusting and check your miso paste label.
• Make it meaty: fold through crisped bacon or chorizo just before shaping.

Make ahead and storage

Reheat in a hot oven or a dry pan, never the microwave, unless you enjoy disappointment. The sauce can be made up to a week ahead and honestly improves after a day or two. The cooked lentil pakoras keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment.

Reheat in a hot oven or a dry pan, never the microwave, unless you enjoy disappointment. Keep the sweetcorn separate until serving so it stays perky.

Where it comes from

Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through.

What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little lentil feed a lot of mouths.

The panko is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on mustard seeds for the same savoury backbone. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little lentil feed a lot of mouths. In Istanbul, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight.

What to serve with it

We like steamed jasmine rice, warm flatbreads and, if we are going all out, a fried egg with crispy edges.

Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.

What do I serve with it?

We like a bitter leaf salad and crushed new potatoes. A crisp, cold drink is non-negotiable.

Imani swears by adding the mint in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.

Mine fell apart in the pan. What happened?

Usually the mixture was too warm or the pan too cold. Chill for 19 minutes and make sure the oil shimmers before anything goes in.

A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.

Can I use an air fryer?

You can: 210°C, a light spray of oil, shake halfway. They will be a touch drier, so be generous with sauce.

A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.

Can I make these ahead for a party?

Yes. Take them to the point just before the final cook, chill on a tray, and finish them as guests arrive. They take 17 minutes and make the house smell incredible.

If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

Is there a substitute for maple syrup?

Nothing is identical, but miso paste with a squeeze of garlic is a very respectable stand-in.

Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.