Savoury
Pure ‘street food’ combined with a great, easy-to-make chutney. The first time I was in India was at the age of twenty-one. I used to eat this delicious snack in every new place I visited. Sometimes it would be fiery hot, other times made with more flavour than heat. I substitute sweet potatoes for white potatoes. These are oven-roasted for a healthier option, but if you deep-fry or air-fry, make sure you seal the outer layer with a paste made from flour and water.
The essential base of a pakora is chickpea flour which makes it a natural gluten-free snack, with the addition of cornflour for extra crispness. This delightful monsoon snack is the customary counterpart to hot chai throughout the wet season. While often connected to the Punjab region are stable of the subcontinent, with variations including panner cheese, chicken and haggis.
Pork
The origin of the Scotch egg is disputed. Fortnum and Mason claim it was a portable snack for the well healed traveller invented in 1738. However, other claims are from J. Scott & Son’s a 19th century creation covered in fish paste, or of 19th century spiced Indian dish.
It can be made any of your favourite sausage meat covering a variety of eggs from quails, hens to duck eggs. I have used a Wiltshire sausage meat recipe that I have adapted.