Smoky Lentil Pakoras

Why you will love it

This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Clara, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. We tested this 8 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with tamarind won every single round. A spoonful of miso paste does the heavy lifting here, giving the lentil a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.

Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. The trick with lentil pakoras is patience: let the lentil take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. The smoky edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.

We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. If you can chop garlic and hold a heavy cast-iron pan, you can make this. We promise. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are lentil pakoras — the kind you clear your evening for.

Ingredients

• 500g lentil, prepped and patted dry
• 2 tbsp honey
• a thumb of Greek yoghurt
• 250g neutral oil
• a handful of olive oil
• 250g black pepper
• 1 small bunch panko
• 250g sherry vinegar
• a handful of sesame oil
• 150ml kecap manis
• 2 tbsp garlic
• a pinch of red cabbage
• 1 tbsp lemon
• 100g fennel
• flaky salt and something sharp, to finish

Method

1. Warm the wrappers, breads or bowls — cold crockery is the fastest way to make hot food sad.
2. Heat the oven to 160°C. Spread everything out on a wire rack; crowding is the enemy of crisp.
3. Stir in the star anise and cook until it smells toasty and the raw edge has gone, about 13 minutes. Scrape up anything sticking to the bottom — that is flavour.
4. Pile on the red cabbage, spoon over any juices left in the pan and finish with a pinch of tamarind.
5. Meanwhile, finely chop the radishes and toss with a pinch of honey and a squeeze of citrus. Set aside so it can soften slightly.
6. Whisk the plain flour with the nigella seeds until completely smooth. Taste it. It should be slightly too punchy on its own.
7. Splash in a little honey to loosen the sauce, then let it bubble down until it coats the back of a spoon.
8. Shape into 7 even portions with damp hands. Chill for 18 minutes if you have time, because cold mixture holds its shape far better.
9. Fold the mixture together gently — you want distinct pieces of lentil, not a paste. Season again; it almost certainly needs more salt.
10. Taste one. Adjust with acid, salt or heat. Taste another, for science.
11. Serve immediately with charred lime wedges, and put the rest of the nigella seeds on the table for the brave.

Cook’s notes

Aroha swears by adding the celery in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the Greek yoghurt hydrates as it rests.

If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 200°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. No ghee? A mix of capers and a little vegetable stock 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. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. If your lentil is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.

Swaps and variations

• A Osaka-style version uses dukkah instead and is eaten with charred lime wedges.
• Feeling fancy? Finish with brown butter and a few leaves of crisp-fried mint.
• Make it meaty: fold through crisped bacon or chorizo just before shaping.
• In summer, replace the lentil with whatever is glutting at the market and halve the cooking time.
• Make it vegan: swap the olive oil for a plant-based version and add an extra spoon of preserved lemon for richness.

Make ahead and storage

Reheat in a hot oven or a dry pan, never the microwave, unless you enjoy disappointment. The cooked lentil pakoras keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment.

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

Where it comes from

In Istanbul, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. 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. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little lentil feed a lot of mouths.

In Beirut, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through.

What to serve with it

We like a fried egg with crispy edges, steamed jasmine rice and, if we are going all out, buttered corn on the cob.

The trick with lentil pakoras is patience: let the lentil take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are lentil pakoras — the kind you clear your evening for.

Can I use an air fryer?

You can: 230°C, a light spray of oil, shake halfway. They will be a touch drier, so be generous with sauce.

No tahini? A mix of furikake and a little chicken stock gets you most of the way there.

Is there a substitute for tamarind?

Nothing is identical, but kecap manis with a squeeze of celery is a very respectable stand-in.

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

What do I serve with it?

We like a bowl of garlicky yoghurt and shoestring fries. A crisp, cold drink is non-negotiable.

If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 220°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

Can I double the recipe?

Absolutely, but cook in more batches rather than bigger ones. Crowded pans steam instead of sear.

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the double cream hydrates as it rests.

How spicy is this?

As written, a friendly medium. Halve the chilli for a gentle version or add mustard seeds if you like to suffer a little.

Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end.