Palak Pakora
I made this yesterday, so I can share it for my holi recipe post. It is really easy to make and works as a great snack for any parties. This is a delicious bajji which is great for your little one. Since it has spinach in them they are little healthy as well. Pakoda is hubby’s favourite one. He loves any crunchy pakoda with his cup of tea. Specially this one is delicious and fluffy. This can be served with any chutney of choice. It is delicious either with mint chutney or tamarind chutney.
About Palak Pakora (Spinach Pakora)
Pakora is a popular Indian snack recipe made with vegetables or meat coated in a spiced gram flour (besan | chickpeas) batter. Some of the most popular pakora recipes are aloo pakora, onion pakora, bread pakora, paneer pakora or cabbage pakora. Palak pakora is also known as spinach pakora, spinach pakoda, keerai pakora and palak pakoda. You can make palak pakora two ways, I have shared both the method in this blog post. You can either dip whole palak leaves in pakora batter and fry them like bajji. Or make a thick batter with chopped spinach leaves and then fry like pakora nuggets. Any which way you choose, it is delicious. This delicious pakoda is not only easy to make but taste so yummy. It needs just few ingredients to make. The addition of spinach in this make this deep fried snack a tad healthier. But still it is an occasional snack. You can try baking it in an air fryer. I have shared details below. For non vegetarians check out my chicken pakora and fish pakora.
Palak Pakora Ingredients
Palak | Spinach - I am using tender leaves palak(spinach). You can use baby spinach leaves or young spinach leaves. Using young *tender leaves is essential, else the pakora wont be cooked properly. Gram Flour - use fine best quality gram flour for making pakora batter. Gram flour is also known as besan or chickpea flour. Rice Flour - a small amount of rice flour added with besan will make the pakora crispier. Don’t add too much else the pakora will absorb lots of oil. Spices - chilli powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida are important spices. you can add cumin powder, amchoor (dried mango powder) and chaat masala. Oil - neutral tasting oil is essential for frying pakora. Groundnut oil also known as peanut oil is preferred. But you can use refined oil like sunflower or canola oil. Optional - for flavour you can use ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, green chilli paste, onions can be used.
Two Ways for Making Palak Pakora
Whole Palak Pakora - This version is similar to frying banana bajji or chilli bajji. Whole cleaned palak leaves is dipped in gram flour batter and fried till crispy. There are two key points you have to remember in this version. Use baby spinach leaves or young spinach leaves. Using young *tender leaves is essential, else the pakora won’t be cooked properly. And the pakora batter has to be thick. Chopped Palak Pakora - This version of spinach pakora is more easy and simple. You have to take all the ingredients like spinach, onions, chillies, spices, besan, rice flour in a bowl and mix well to a thick dough like. Drop nugget size portions in hot oil and fry till golden brown. Serve hot with chutney.
How to Make Palak Pakora (Stepwise Pictures)
Cleaning Spinach leaves
1)I am using tender leaves palak(spinach). You can use baby spinach leaves or young spinach leaves. Using young *tender leaves is essential, else the pakora wont be cooked properly. 2)Wash the spinach really well. Remove the tough stalks from the spinach. You can leave a little bit intact which makes the dipping (in batter) process easier. 3)Once the palak is washed well, pat them dry using some paper towels. Make sure the leaves are dry. Else when we deep fry the oil may splatter because of the water content.
Make Pakora Batter
4)Take gram flour in a bowl. This is also known as besan or chickpea flour. 5)Add in some rice flour. Don’t add too much rice flour else the pakora will be too oily. Adding little rice flour to besan will make the pakora crispy when fried. 6)Add in some salt to taste. 7)Add in some kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder. Optionally you can use roasted cumin powder, chaat masala powder as well. 8)Add in a pinch of asafoetida. This helps will the digestion also makes the pakora smell great. 9)Mix the dry ingredients well using a spoon, fork or a whisk. 10)Now add in little water at a time to make a smooth batter. Don’t pour too much water, add little at a time. The pakora batter has to be thick. 11)This is optional, but a pinch of baking soda | cooking soda added in pakora batter makes it crispy and puffier. 12)Pakora batter is ready. Set this aside till needed.
Coating Spinach in Batter
13)Take palak leaves and dip in the batter. Some people like to coat the leaves with some rice flour or plain flour before dipping in the batter so the batter coats the leaves. But if you dry your leaves enough, it will coat beautifully. 14)Coat both sides of the leaves in the batter.
Frying Palak Pakora
15)Drop the pakora in hot oil and fry till golden and crispy on both sides.
Sprinkling with Chaat Masala
16)Remove the pakora using a slotted spoon from the hot oil. Strain it on some paper towel. 17)Take some chaat masala powder, sprinkle all over the fried pakora. This step is optional but it adds a zingy taste to the fried pakora. 18)Sprinkle the hot pakora generously with chaat masala. 19) Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.
Spinach Pakora (Method 2)
This version of spinach pakora is more easy and simple. You have to take all the ingredients like spinach, onions, chillies, spices, besan, rice flour in a bowl and mix well to a thick dough like. Drop nugget size portions in hot oil and fry till golden brown. Serve hot with chutney. Since we are making the mixture thick and dough like, you can easily bake or air fry the pakora till golden and cooked. Check instructions below for details on how to air fry or bake the pakoras. All you need is to tweak the recipe a little for making pakora in oven or Air fryer. The key point to remember in this recipe is, to mix the onions and spinach with spices and salt before to extract the water content from the mixture which helps to make the pakora dough. Also when frying cook them on medium high heat so it cooks evenly and gets crispy. Make sure you enjoy hot pakoras with green chutney.
Ingredients Used
Spinach - 3 cups chopped finely Onion - 1 chopped Green Chillies - 1 chopped Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tblsp Salt to taste Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tblsp Gram Flour - 1 cup Rice Flour - ½ cup Oil for deep frying Curry leaves - a handful Baking Soda / Cooking Soda a pinch
How to Make Spinach Pakora
1)Take chopped spinach, sliced onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, fennel seeds in a mixing bowl. 2)Add in salt, chilli powder, baking soda, curry leaves over the spinach. 3)Mix this really well with your hands. This step is important because it brings out the water content in the spinach and onions which helps to make the pakora batter. 4)Now you can see the water from the onions and spinach has seeped out. Set this mixture aside for 5 minutes so the onions and spinach marinate with the spice powders. 5)Sprinkle over some gram flour and rice flour over the onion spinach mix. 6)Mix this gently to form a thick mixture. The mixture shouldn’t be liquidy, it should be like a loose dough consistency. 7)Heat oil for deep frying. I am using neutral tasting oil. 8)Drop small nugget size spinach pakora mixture in the hot oil and fry till golden brown. Make sure you fry this on medium high heat. Don’t cook them on too high heat else it may burn outside before the centre cooking. 9)Once the pakora is fried, strain them using a slotted spoon on some paper towel. Once it is rested for few minutes, serve them hot with tomato ketchup and green chutney.
Expert Tips
Use young, tender spinach leaves for this recipe. Using tender leaves makes the cooking process easier. The pakora batter has to be thick, else when frying the pakora will absorb lots of oil. Don’t add too much baking soda, else the pakora will turn oily. Rice flour helps making the pakora crispier. You can add 1 tsp of cornstarch to the batter. Fry the pakora on medium hot oil so it doesn’t burn.
More Pakora Recipes to Try
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