By Honorary Reporter Jubby Kumar from India 
Photos = Jubby Kumar

As an Indian in love with Korean cuisine and culture, I often try making Korean dishes at home such as pajeon (fried pancakes), dakgalbi (spicy grilled chicken) and songpyeon (half moon-shaped rice cake) since my city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh has no Korean restaurants. 

This was my first time using kimchi in an Indian dish and it came out better than I expected. I used kimchi to make pakoras, which is similar to pajeon. For this recipe, I used kimchi that I made two to three days before cooking the pakoras. I used freshly made kimchi because I wanted the cabbage leaves to have a crunchy texture.

Directions for making batter

1. Take the gram flour in a bowl and add black pepper and cumin, carom and fennel seeds and mix them in a dry state.

2. Add vegetables like grated carrot, onions, capsicum, chili, grated potato, ginger garlic paste and mint leaves.

3. Put a tablespoon of chopped kimchi into the mix.

4. Add a tablespoon of water, rice flour and a bit of rock salt and mix the ingredients.

5. Do not add much water to the batter, which should be thick in consistency.

Directions for frying kimchi pakoras
Put oil in a frying pan and heat. After the oil gets hot, start pouring the batter in small circles using a spoon. Fry the pakoras on both sides for a minute each and put them on a kitchen towel. Serve them hot with two dipping sauces.

Directions for making sauces

Tangy sauce or chatney: This sauce balances the spiciness of kimchi. Put tamarind pulp in water and soak it for a few minutes. Add sugar to the pulp mixture, heat it and reduce it on the gas burner. Turn off the burner after two minutes and let it cool.

Green sauce: This sauce for spicy food lovers requires coriander leaves, green chili, garlic and salt. Put the leaves, garlic, green chili and salt in a mixer grinder for a minute and serve. 

This dish is ideal for the rainy or winter season and best served hot; it also makes a great pairing with tea. I prefer the tangy sauce. 

kalhong617@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.