It is no secret that Indians love crunchy foods – samosas, papads, and farsan are munched all throughout the day, from morning to evening chai. Pakora, a term for any deep fried and battered cake, is an easy and versatile way to serve your guests some crispy goodness!
While pakora can be made from any vegetable, such as potatoes or onions, I decided to share a spinach pakora recipe. Spinach is healthy, savory, and is easy to mix into batter. If you are a spinach lover like me, check out another crunchy, green delight in my spinach samosa recipe!
Here is a quick and simple way to fry yourself some delicious spinach pakoras:
Ingredients:
(Recipe makes about 25 pakoras)
15 oz. of thawed, frozen spinach
1 cup of corn flour (all-purpose or rice flour can be substituted)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1/3 tsp. garam masala powder
2 tsp. coriander-cumin powder
1 tsp. coriander seeds
Salt to taste (not pictured)
Vegetable oil for frying (not pictured)
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes
How To:
1. Combine the spinach, flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, coriander-cumin powder, coriander seeds, and salt in a large bowl. Do not add water, since the frozen spinach will already accumulate some.
2. Mix these ingredients thoroughly with your hands or a large spoon.
3. Fill a large saucepan with enough vegetable oil to fry the pakoras in. Usually, the pan needs to be filled halfway. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat so the oil heats quickly.
4. Use a tablespoon to scoop spoonfuls of the spinach mixture into the heated oil. Fit as many pakoras as you can into the saucepan without crowding it.
5. Let the pakoras fry until the bubbles begin to slow, and they turn golden brown on one side. This will take around 3-5 minutes.
6. Let the pakoras fry for 3-5 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown.
7. Squeeze the water out of the pakoras by pressing down lightly with a slotted spoon.
8. Turn the pakoras over to fry for another 2-3 minutes on the other side.
9. When the pakora batter is golden-brown, remove the pakoras carefully from the saucepan with a slotted spoon. Try to drain out all the oil you can.
10. Place the drained pakoras on a plate covered with a paper towel, so that the paper towel can absorb further oil.
11. Move the pakoras directly to a plate or serving dish once they have cooled.
12. Repeat steps 4-11 in batches until the spinach mixture is used up.
13. Serve the spinach pakoras with chutney, plain yogurt, or any dipping sauce of your choice!
Enjoy those yummy, crunchy bites!