Palak Pakoda (Crispy Spinach Fritters)

It was raining in Columbus yesterday. A perfect time for some pakodas with a cup of hot ginger tea. Usually I make onion or potato pakoda, but this time I wanted to indulge in satisfying my craving for something fried along with something healthy as well. What could be more healthier than spinach?

I tried making Palak Pakoda (Spinach fritters) for the first time and to my surprise the spinach leaf dipped in spiced gram flour and deep fried turned out really crispy with full flavors of spinach.

Serves: 2
Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients

10-12 spinach (palak) leaves, medium size
½ cup gram flour (besan)
2 tbsp rice flour
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chili powder, or adjust as per spice tolerance
½ tsp coriander-cumin (dhane-jeera) powder
½ tsp salt, or adjust as per taste
¼ tsp carom seeds (ajwain) powder
1 pinch baking soda
Oil, for frying

Preparation

Batter
1.  In a bowl, take besan, rice flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander-cumin powder, ajwain powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
2.  Slowly add ½ cup of water, keep stirring while checking consistency so that there are no lumps formed and the batter does not become too thin. Mix all together and make a medium thick batter. Keep aside.

Frying
1.  Remove the hard stalk of spinach leaves. Rinse and pat dry with a cloth.
2.  In a deep frying pan or fryer, heat oil on medium heat.
3.  When the oil is hot, take one spinach leaf, dip and completely coat into the batter and slowly slide the leaf into the oil.
4.  Once fried from one side, flip the leaf and fry the other side. Deep fry on all sides until the fritter is crispy and golden brown in color.
5.  Once crispy, using a slotted spatula, lift the leaf, drain the oil and remove them on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.

Sprinkle chaat masala and red chili powder on top and serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.

spoonful O’ tips

1.  After rinsing, completely dry spinach leaf before dipping into the batter. Also, make sure not to add too much water into the batter, or else the pakoda will absorb extra oil and become soggy.
2. You can also add ginger-garlic paste into the batter to give it additional flavor.