Badhakopi’r Bora
The crispiest cabbage fritters that are perfect as a snack or with your meal
- Cooking time30 minutes
Calorieskcal
Cabbage are delicious when they are in season, but to be honest, by the end of winter everyone is getting tired of them. That is where this badhakopi’r bora (or pakora) comes in. It can be made all year round, even with cabbage that is past its prime. Serve this with dal-bhaat, hot khichuri, or simply as an evening snack with tea. They are scrumptious!
We show you the secret to getting the crispiest badhakopi’r bora, plus an ingenious way to use up the tough core of the cabbage that is usually thrown away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ingredients
Serves
5 servings
Type I: Bora with outer leaves
- 200 g cabbage (shredded 5-mm wide)
- 8 g salt
- 15 g sugar
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp kaalo jeere (nigella seeds)
- 1 pc green chilli (finely chopped)
- 8 g coriander leaves (finely chopped)
- 60 g onion (optional)
- 4 pc ginger (optional)
- 8 g garlic (optional)
- 40 g maida (plain flour)
- 40 g cornflour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- vegetable oil (for frying)
Type II: Bora with inner core
- 150 g cabbage core (3-cm cubes)
- 10 g salt (for blanching)
- 500 g hot water (for blanching
- 25 g maida (plain flour)
- 25 g cornflour
- 3 g salt (for the batter)
- 8 g sugar
- 1 pinch turmeric
- 1 pinch red chilli powder
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 pinch kaalo jeere (nigella seeds)
- 1 pc green chilli (finely chopped)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 60 g water (for the batter)
- vegetable oil (for frying)
Method
Type I: Bora with the outer leaves
- Shred the outer leaves of the cabbage 5-mm wide. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add salt, sugar, turmeric, red chilli, kaalo jeere, pepper, green chilli and coriander (for the niramish version), and onion, ginger and garlic (for the amish version).
- Mix well, scrunching the leaves with your fists. Set aside for 15 minutes. The salt and sugar will help draw moisture out from the cabbage (we won’t be adding any extra water).
- Just before frying, add the cornflour, maida and baking powder, and knead until you get a paste-like mixture.
- Drop little dollops of it in oil (temperature 180°C) set on medium heat. Fry the boras until crisp and brown.
Type II: Bora with the inner core
- Divide the core of the cabbage into 3-cm cubes, making sure to keep a little bit of the unifying central stem in each piece. This will prevent the leaves from unravelling.
- Transfer the cubes to a saucepan. Add 10 g salt and 500 ml hot water, and steam the cubes for 2 minutes. Drain immediately, as we don’t want to let the cubes continue cooking.
- To make the batter, combine maida, cornflour, 3 g salt, sugar, turmeric, red chilli, kaalo jeere, pepper, green chilli, baking powder and 60 ml water.
- Dip the cubes in this batter and deep-fry them on medium heat until the outside is crisp and golden.
