Crispy Spinach Pakoras
August 23rd, 2010 filed under Appetizers, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegan
Spinach pakoras are delicious as a snack. Spinach pakoras can be served many different ways and they always taste great. One of my favorite ways to serve these pakoras is papdi chaat.
Recipe makes about 30 pieces
Ingredients
For Batter
- ½ cup gram flour (basen)
- 1 tablespoon corn starch (arrow root powder)
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
- About 3/4 cup water
Also need
- About 30 fresh spinach leaves
- Oil to fry
Method
- Mix all the dry ingredients together: besan, corn starch, black pepper, cumin seeds, asafetida, and salt. Corn starch adds to the crispness.
- Add the water slowly to make a smooth batter (batter should be thin consistency).
- Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.
- The frying pan should have at least 1 ½ inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in oil. The batter should come up but not change color right away.
- Dip the spinach leaf into the batter one at a time, making sure it is covered by the batter completely; wipe it from side of the batter bowl making sure batter is evenly spread over spinach. Then, slowly drop in the slices into the frying pan.
- Fry the pakoras in small batches. The pakoras will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook.
- Turn them occasionally. Fry the pakoras until both sides are golden-brown.
- The crispy, delicious pakoras are now ready to serve.
- They can be stored for several days in air tight container.
Tips
If oil is too hot pakoras will not be crispy; if oil is not hot enough, pakoras will be greasy.
Serving Suggestions
- Spinach pakoras can be served as chips with your choice of dipping sauce.
- Spinach crisp can also be served as papdi chaat.
can you use pea meal flour instead of besan?
Hi Manjula Aunty,
Your spinach pakora recipe is soooo good! my boyfriend loved them! crunchy and crispy, they were delightfully easy to make… thank you!
p.s. u’re super cute and adorable…
I wish there was an alternative to deep frying.
If you have an oven or toaster oven you could probably get the same effect by broiling. Put it on a pan lightly-coated with oil and broil for a few minutes, turn over, then broil a few minutes more.
aunty, why have you put corn starch? does it help in any way?
Dear Manjula: I just discovered your site while helping a friend find a vegetarian Indian recipe for a good-bye party for an Indian friend. I have watched a couple of recipes myself and wanted to thank you for being so entertaining and informative. They look delicious and can’t wait to try a few, especially the zucchini rice and the spinach pakoras. Thank you very much! Cheers, Michael B
Pls don’t use the word “HEALTHY” for “DEEP FRIED” dishes. It will lose all the nutrition once it fried in oil.
The unhealthiness of fried foods depends on a variety of things. An oil or fat loaded with hydrogenated oils or partially-hydrogenated oils isn’t healthy. Cooking with Safflower Oil, Canola Oil, etc is a MUCH healthier option as these aren’t hydrogenated or loaded with fat. The fat they do contain are primarily mono- and poly- unsaturated fats which are actually beneficial to the body (in moderation of course). And when cooking with healthier oils we can help boost the quality of health by allowing oil to run off foods and into the pan before putting the foods on our plate. Fried food in this manner does have health value.
hello aunty
i just wanted to ask..how do you get rid of tumeric stains on the stove top?? yours looks os nice and clean!
thanks
I just wanted to know whether or not the spinach have been washed and then blotted to dry?
Yvonne, yes you must gently wash and blot the spinach dry before dipping it into the batter.
Hello Manjula Aunty,
These pakoras are so yummy looking.
I often chop the spinach leaves while making these.But the whole spinach leaf version looks very good too.
Looks good. I’ve not seen spinach pakoras before.