Palak ke Pakore (Gram flour and Spinach Fritters)

Super Bowl is incomplete without finger foods and every year I try to prepare something new. Last year I prepared a Creamy Cream Cheese Dip to go with the delicious sausages and this year I decided to prepare a North Indian snack. I had a huge bag of Spinach in my fridge and I thought how about I prepare some Spinach and Gram Flour fritters? This combination tastes amazing and it can be easily prepared within 10-15 minutes. I fried them crisp which developed that beautiful crunch in the leaves. Now you don’t have to buy the powdered spices, you can always use whatever you have available in your pantry. Serve the fritters hot with some Chaat masala and you got yourself a delicious homemade finger food! If you are preparing these for guests, you can fry them beforehand and keep them warm and toasty in the oven. Serve them with Cilantro chutney or ketchup.

Ingredients:

• Spinach – 2 cups, thoroughly washed
• Besan (Gram Flour) – 1 cup 
• Onion Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Ginger Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Red Chili Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Fennel Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Coriander Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Cumin Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Water – ½ cup plus a little more (for the batter)
• Salt – to taste (about ¼ teaspoon)
• Oil – 2-3 cups (for frying)

Let’s prepare the batter:

• Mix together the batter ingredients (Besan, Onion Powder, Ginger Powder, Red Chili Powder, Fennel Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Asafoetida 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.
• Wash the Spinach thoroughly in a colander and keep it aside.

Directions to fry the Fritters:

• 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 just a little 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 a couple of spinach leaves into the batter. Coat them up with a spoon, then drop them carefully into the oil. You can add a couple spoonfuls of leaves at a time making sure not to over crowd the wok. Keep an eye on the color and temperature of the fritters.
• Keep frying the fritters 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 them and serve hot with ketchup or Cilantro chutney.

Tips:

• 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.
• If you don’t have the powdered spices, use 2-3 tablespoons of chopped Onion and 1 teaspoon of Ginger. If using Green Chili, two should be enough, chop them up as well.
• 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 or 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 fritters are looking greasy or taking forever to cook. Now if the fritters are changing color quickly you may want to turn down the heat a bit.
• Try to use the back burner to deep fry the fritters. Always be careful when dealing with hot oil.

 

Recommended Reading:

• How to Deep-Fry food with Confidence? 
• How to check if the Oil is hot enough to fry
• Pyaz Ke Pakore (Onion Fritters)
• French Chops
• Samosa (Spicy Potato stuffed Pastries)
• Alur Bora (Mamma’s Potato with Garlic fritters)
• Kabiraji
• Meethi Chutney Matar Phulki
• Alu Tikiya ki Chaat (Crispy Fried Potato Patties with Dried Peas, Yogurt, Chutney and Spices)
• Methi Pakora (Gram flour and Fenugreek leaves Fritters)
• Dhania Chutney (Cilantro Chutney)
• Saag Bhaja (Bengali style Stir-fried Spinach)
• Palak Paneer (Fresh Cheese in Spinach gravy)
• Chochchori (Bengali style mixed vegetables)
• Make Cumin Powder at Home
• Excited to use new spices? Know more about Hing (Asafoetida)
• Creamy Cream Cheese Dip
• My Cheap and Delicious Cheese Plate
• Dhaba Wala Saag Chicken (Chicken in Spinach Curry Rustic Indian Style)
• Alu Cutlet (Crispy Shallow Fried Potato Patties)
• Loknath wali Meethi Lassi (Sweet Yogurt based drink)
• Namkeen (Savory Deep Fried Indian Snacks)
• My Homemade Sausage and Feta Hors D'oeuvres
• My Homemade Spicy Potato Hors D'oeuvres 
• Mamma’s Dahi Bara (Lentil Fritters with creamy Yogurt, Chutney and Spices)
• Alu Palak Sabji (North Indian Dish: Stir-fried Potatoes with Spinach)
• Baked Cumin / Nigella Seeds Namkeens
• Egg Devil (Bengali recipe of Croquettes with egg and minced meat/ Indian Scotch Eggs)
• Bread Pakora (Deep fried Bread Fritters with Potato filling)
• Vegetable Cutlets
• Bread Pakora with Soa Alu (Deep fried Bread Fritters with Dill and Potato filling)
• Paneer Pakore (Fresh Cheese Fritters)
• Air fried Pakoras (Fritters)