Crispy Spinach Pakora (no aloo, airfryer option)

Spinach pakora are vibrant green spinach leaves swirled in a golden, spiced gram flour batter, then deep-fried to crispy perfection. Also known as palak pakora, these homestyle indian pakoras pack a burst of savory goodness, making it impossible to stop at just one! Pair them with your favorite chutney and let the pakora party begin! Air fryer instructions included.

Just thinking about pakoras makes my taste buds do a happy dance! Whether it's a rainy monsoon evening or any time of day, they’re the ultimate munchie. Paired with a cup of kadak masala chai, it’s a match made in snack heaven. Not just eating them, I get super excited to make pakoras at home —just watching them sizzle and fry in hot oil is so much fun! They’re easy to make, I promise!

What's Spinach Pakora

Pakoras are a quintessential Indian-style fritter, and they’re far from your average snack. These deep-fried bites are packed with chopped spinach, red onions, and coated in a besan batter flavored with spices like coriander, red chili flakes, and cumin. For an extra crunch, we also add small amount of rice flour to the mix, to make them irresistibly crispy and satisfying!

In my family, we make them two ways! The first method mixes everything in a bowl, then drops small portions into hot oil for deep-frying. The second method, similar to tempura, involves dipping whole spinach leaves in a spiced besan batter and frying them. Both are delicious, but the latter takes more time, so I usually go with the first method for a quicker treat.

At home, palak pakoras were made from fresh spinach plucked from my grandmother’s garden.They tasted juicy & spicy, and were packed with spinach in each bite—everything the restaurant versions are not! Instead of being fluffy and bursting with leafy goodness, many of the pakoras I’ve had are just a starchy, potato-heavy letdown. So let me teach you how to make them right!

Ingredients

• Fresh Spinach - I use spinach bunch. However, baby spinach will work in a pinch.Don't use frozen spinach(too watery & limpy). If using spinach bunch, discard only tough ends of the stems, you can chop up the tender parts of the stem. More on how to chop spinach for pakoras below.
• Onion - I use red onion. Yellow onion will work too. Chop the onion into slightly thick slices so that they remain their texture after frying.
• Besan (Gram Flour) - I use fine ground besan by Laxmi foods. Besan is made from bengal gram lentils (chana dal) and is different from chickpea flour(garbanzo flour). You could use the latter if you do not find besan.
• Rice Flour - We need unsweetened rice flour. I typically use thai rice flour (non-affiliate link) in my recipes for its super fine texture.
• Spices - Whole coriander seeds, red chilli flakes, kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, ajwain(carrom seeds). I use these spices keeping in mind the color, texture and the flavor they bring to the pakora batter, however you may skip any that you don't have at hand or don't want to use.
• Water - Many recipes suggest massaging the spinach with spices and besan and letting it sit to draw out its water, but for perfect pakoras, you do need to add a bit of water. Without it, besan become clumpy and uneven due to its high protein and dense texture. Water softens the besan, helping it coat the spinach evenly. Start with a small amount and add more gradually.
• Scallions - They are an optional ingredient! I love adding them for their mildly sweet onion flavor. You could skip if you want.
• Green Chilies or Red Chilies - For that kick! Use sharp chilies! Else your pakoras will taste flat. I use chopped thai red chilies or indian green chilies. Serrano peppers are a good substitute. You could chop them, or minced them depending on how much heat you can handle.
• Fresh Cilantro - Adds a fresh, subtle aromatic flavor to the pakoras. If you are not a fan of cilantro, fresh parsley works good.

Tips on how to Chop Spinach for Pakoras

1. Rinse the spinach leaves 3-4 times or as needed under cold water to remove any dirt. Pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel or use a salad spinner to remove excess moisture. If your spinach is not dry, your pakora batter will become wet & unmanageable. Soggy batter means soggy pakoras!
2. Cut off the tough, thick stems from the spinach leaves. These can be fibrous and may not cook as well .
3. I roughly chop the spinach in such a way so that none of the leaves remain whole, rather they are bite sized. If you wish, for a uniform chop, you could stack a few spinach leaves on top of each other on a cutting board, then roll them up tightly like a cigar. Using a sharp knife, chop the leaves into strips. Any way you choose to do it, make sure to chop the spinach in small batches to maintain control over the size of the pieces. We want small to medium size that can be mixed well to form pakora batter.

How To Make Spinach Pakoda

Make The Pakora Mixture

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all the pakora ingredients except water and oil.
2. With your hands, toss to mix the vegetables with the flours & spices.

1. Gradually start adding water. Add little water at a time to the mixture and start mixing and squishing gently so that the vegetable juices also start coming out. It takes 2-3 minutes for everything to start coming together. You will be surprised by how much volume of spinach you started with and how it reduces in volume significantly. The pakora batter should not be too runny. You want it to hold the vegetables together without excess batter dripping off.
2. After mixing the batter, let it rest for 5-6 minutes. This allows the besan to absorb the water fully, resulting in a smoother, more cohesive mixture.

Deep Fry The Pakoras

5. In a deep frying pan or a heavy kadai( indian wok), pour about 2-3 inches of oil and heat up over medium heat. Oil should not become too hot (else burnt on outside and raw on inside pakoras). If oil is cold- pakoras will become oily and also chances are that they start spreading in oil.
6. To test oil temperature, drop a small bit of batter into the oil. If it rises to the surface and starts bubbling without changing color, the oil is hot enough.
7. I always do a taste test by making a single pakora. Taste and adjusty the salt or seasnings in batter if needed.
8. You could drop the pakoras using a spoon. I use my hands to shape the pakoras. Take a portion of the pakora batter and using your thumb & fingers shape it into a flat disc(with uneven edges, see images to get an idea). Make sure that the pakora isn't too thick in the center else it would remain dense and uncooked. You could make them as big or small as you like.

5. Carefully, drop the pakoras into hot oil.Don’t overcrowd the oil; fry in batches.
6. Fry the pakoras on medium heat until they are golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes per batch.
7. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pakoras from hot oil and drain them on paper towels. While they are hot, immediately sprinkle chaat masala powder on them for a burst of salty,spicy tang! Serve with green chutney and/or tamarind chutney and chai!

Air Fryer Method

• Note on pakora batter for air frying- Don't use corn starch instead of rice flour if you plan to air fry spinach pakoras. While testing the recipe, I figured that using cornstarch made the pakoras quite gummy.
• Preheat your air fryer to 360°F (180°C) for about 3-5 minutes. For reference, I use an 8qt air fryer.
• Brush or spray the basket rack with oil so that pakoras do not stick. Or place an air fryer basket liner on the rack.

• Shape the pakoras as explained above and place them in the air fryer basket. Spray a little oil on pakroras so that they don't become too dry.
• Make sure not to overcrowd the basket. Similar to deep frying - you will have to air fry in batches.
• Air fry for about 14 minutes, flippling them half way. Adjust air fryer time as needed until pakoras are crisp and the edges start turning golden.
• The air fried crispy palak pakora are best eaten rightway.

Recipe Tips & Troubleshooting

• Avoid adding too much besan, as it can overpower the flavor of spinach. And also make the pakoras taste doughy and dense.
• Gradually adjust the amount of besan or water depending on whether the mixture becomes too wet or dry and clumpy.
• If you’d like to include potatoes, you can add 1-2 small potatoes, diced into small cubes. Just make sure that spinach remains the dominant vegetable in the mixture.
• Experiment with adding other greens like methi (fenugreek) or kale for a twist on the classic spinach pakora. Garlic and ginger are typically not used in indian pakoras, however you could add a little if you wish. 
• Palak pakodas are best eat piping hot. If you have leftovers, you could warm up in an oven but they do not remain as crispy.