pakora

Where does the word "pakora" come from? It comes from Sanskrit pakvavata, passing through Hindi before entering English (1932).

Pakora’s story begins in Sanskrit: pakvavata meant “a fried lump of dough.” Compound of 'cooked' and 'a small lump, cake'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Hindi as pakora. The everyday word for the fried snack. It reached English by 1932 as pakora. British writers on Indian cuisine adopted the word. Today, pakora means a deep-fried South Asian snack made from vegetables dipped in spiced gram-flour batter.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient pakvavata "a fried lump of dough", compound of 'cooked' and 'a small lump, cake'.
2. Stage 2 · Hindi · medieval pakora "a fried vegetable fritter", the everyday word for the fried snack.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1932 pakora "a deep-fried snack of vegetables in gram-flour batter", British writers on Indian cuisine adopted the word.