Palak pakoda|Spinach fritters

Pakoda/fritters are an inevitable part of Indian cuisine😍.I have seen some families where it is mandatory to have pakoda with evening tea.Pakoda/fritters are generally made with gram flour/besan batter.The choice is totally yours which vegetable you desire to add to it. potato,cauliflower,eggplant,onion are the common types pakoda which you come across .In India there will  be at least one famous shop at a street that sells these fritters.And lets not talk about the queue of the customers lining at the shop to have their share of fritters.

As soon as it hits 5 in the evening the public flocks around these shops to hang around with friends and discuss the days hot topics and buzz!!!.For this recipe I have used baby /tender spinach.The crunchy outer layer compliments the earthy flavour of spinach very well.Well it is tricky to stop the batter from dripping off the leaf while you add it to oil ,but with practise i am sure you will nail it.The batter should be neither too thick nor too thin .The thumb rule for perfect batter is add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and whip it well with hand or a manual whisk.Whipping ensures aeration which results in fluffy crisp pakoda .  

Off to the recipe ....

Recipe for spinach fritters/palak pakoda

Preparation time;5 minutes

cooking time 10 minutes

servings :4

Ingredients

• 8 -spinach/palak leaves
• 1/2 cup-besan/gram flour
• 1/4 teaspoon-chilly powder
• 1/4 teaspoon-ginger garlic paste
•  a pinch -ajwain/caraway seeds
• a pinch-baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
• salt as needed
• water as needed
• oil for frying

Procedure

1.Wash the spinach leaves and pat dry them with a kitchen towel.

2. To a bowl add all the dry ingredients and  make a batter by slowly adding water to it. 

3. Allow the batter to rest for 3 minutes so that it activates the bicarbonate of soda.

4.heat oil for deep frying on medium heat .

5.Dip the leaves of spinach in the batter and drop slowly in hot oil .

6. Once the edges turn golden flip it and fry the other side .

7. Once the pakoda turns golden brown remove it on a paper towel .

8. Serve it with our choice of chutney or ketchup