Life Without Alu?: Methi Pakora (Gram flour and Fenugreek leaves Fritters)

Last week Debarshi told me that he has decided to take two days off. For me it meant two extra days when I don’t have to wake up in the morning and make his breakfast or pack his tiffin. We can stay up late and binge watch movies or series and that is exactly how I started my fabulous extra weekend time. However, when I woke up the next morning I found Debarshi sitting with his laptop. He told me that something came up and he will have to work for a couple of hours, “Just two- three hours max and I will be done”. Those few hours stretched to an entire day and it made me so sad to see him working on his day off. So I decided to surprise him with a delicious snack. I had a fresh bunch of Methi leaves in the fridge and this time instead of preparing my special Methi Parathas I thought of preparing Methi Pakora. Now let me tell you about it, Methi Pakoras are prepared by mixing gram flour with Methi leaves and a few spices. This is a very popular street food in Northern India and can be prepared without any fuss. They go very well on a cold winter evening with a cup of hot tea. The addition of Methi leaves adds a beautiful subtle bitter taste and aroma in the Pakoras while the gram flour makes them crisp and light on the outside and soft on the inside.

To buy fresh Methi leaves, visit your local Indian store. You will have to discard all the yellow and pale leaves with the stems so make sure to pick a bunch with dark green leaves on it. Prepare these delicious fritters for the evening snack and use the rest of the leaves for some yummylicious Parathas.

Needless to say that when I presented these hot fritters to Debarshi he absolutely loved them. He put away his laptop and enjoyed the Pakoras with delight and said that they made his day. These yummy Pakoras made him happy and uplifted his mood and I am sure they will have the same magic on you. Give them a try and share in the comments section how they turned out.

Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

Methi (Fenugreek) leaves – ¼ cup, tightly packed, thoroughly washed
Besan (Gram Flour) – ¾ cup
Water – ¼ cup plus a little more (for the batter)
Green Chili - 1, chopped finely
Red Chili powder – ¼ teaspoon
Baking Soda – a pinch
Asafoetida – a pinch
Ginger – ½ inch, finely chopped
Salt – to taste (about 2 pinches)
Oil – 2-3 cups (for frying)

Let’s prepare the batter:

Mix together the batter ingredients (Besan, Green Chili, Red Chili powder, Baking Soda, Asafoetida, Ginger and Salt) and gradually add the water in it.
To ensure that there are no lumps in the batter I whisk it continuously while adding water.
Add the Methi leaves in it. Mix and put it away.

Tips:

Methi leaves have a slight bitter taste in them but they are not extraordinarily bitter like the ones we usually find in India. If, however, you don’t like them to be bitter at all then here is a tip from my mom: she said that if you season the washed Methi leaves with a pinch of salt then that will absorb all the bitterness from them. Season and leave them for 5-10 minutes and then add them in the batter. Season the batter accordingly.
Methi leaves usually have a lot of dirt on them so make sure to wash them properly. Drain them then remove the stems completely.
One question which may baffle a newbie cook is the measurement of pinch. Traditionally it is the amount of salt or pepper you can hold between your forefinger and thumb. Now if you want to be more accurate then you may use a measuring spoon and it will be approximately 1/8 teaspoon.

Finally let’s fry the Pakoras:

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat.
Keep an oven safe dish on the kitchen counter and line it with a paper towel.
Test the temperature of the oil by dropping a bit of the batter into the oil. If there isn’t any bubbling, then the oil isn’t ready. If it’s furiously bubbling and there is smoke, that’s too hot. If the temperature is perfect the batter ball will take a dip and immediately float to the surface of the oil and change color.
At this perfect temperature, start dropping the batter into the oil using a small spoon. Add a couple of spoonfuls at a time and do not over crowd the wok. Keep an eye on the color and temperature of the Pakoras.
Keep frying the Pakoras till they are light golden brown in color.
Remove from the wok using a spider spoon and place them on the plate.
Dust some Chaat Masala on the Pakoras and serve hot with ketchup or Dhania chutney.

Tips:

Prepare the Masala given in the Meethi Chutney Matar Phulki article and dust it on these Pakoras for an extra flavor.
Skip the green chilies and the red chili powder if you don’t want the fritters taste hot. Always remember to improvise the recipe as per your palate.
Keeping the heat on medium ensures a longer frying time and helps cook the batter evenly. You should of course turn it up a bit if the Pakoras are looking greasy or taking forever to cook. Now if the Pakoras are changing color quickly you may want to turn down the heat a bit.
Do not skip the baking soda, it ensures that the Pakoras turn up light and crisp.
Try to use the back burner to deep fry the Pakoras. Always be careful when dealing with hot oil.

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1 comment:

Debjani Moitra27 October 2020 at 19:04
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