Palak Pakoda
Palak pakoda, these crispy spinach fritters are perfect afternoon snack to serve with a cup of tea/coffee in the rainy weather or winter season. The process of making pakoda at home is very easy and requires a few basic ingredients like palak(spinach) and gram flour(besan). Just mix chopped spinach, gram flour, onion, red chilli powder and salt with a few tablespoons of water, and your pakoda batter is ready, and in next 10 minutes, you will be enjoying pakodas. Follow the below given recipe of palak pakoda with step by step photos to make this crispy snack at home.
| Ingredients: |
| 2½ cups chopped Spinach (palak) |
| 1/2 cup finely chopped Onion (1 large) |
| 1/2 cup Gram Flour(besan/chickpea flour) |
| 2 tablespoons Rice Flour (or gram flour), optional |
| 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder, optional |
| 1 teaspoon Cumin-Coriander Powder, optional |
| Salt, to taste |
| Oil, for deep frying |
| 2-3 tablespoons Water, as needed |
Directions:
- Clean the spinach leaves(palak) and wash them under running water to remove any dirt. Transfer them to a colander and drain excess water. Finely chop them and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add finely chopped onion.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder and salt.
- Add gram flour(besan) and rice flour.
- Mix well with a spoon. As you can see the mixture turns wet because of the moisture in the palak.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons water(as needed) little by little and mix well.
- For crispy pakodas, don’t add more water; just add water as needed to bind the mixture.
- Heat oil in a deep frying pan over medium flame to deep fry the pakodas. When oil is medium hot, drop a small portion of batter into the hot oil either by using a spoon or your hand to make pakoda. Drop 5-7 portions of batter in a single batch, depending on the size of a pan to make pakodas.
- Deep fry them until they turn light golden and crispy.
- Remove them using a slotted spoon and drain excess oil. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper napkin. Palak Paokdas are ready for serving.
Tips and Variations:
- If rice flour is not available, use the same amount of gram flour instead of it.
- Don’t stir immediately after adding pakodas to the hot oil to prevent them from separating.
- Do not fry them over low flame because they absorb too much oil and turn soggy.
- For variation, add 1/2 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain) and 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger while making the batter.
Taste: Crispy and salty
Serving Ideas: Serve them hot with tomato ketch up or mint chutney and a cup of Indian Masala Chai as afternoon snack.