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A range of edible leaves, including spinach, mustard greens, kale, collard greens, and fenugreek leaves (methi), are referred to as "green leafy vegetables," or saag. These leaves are coated in seasoned gram flour (besan) better together with chopped onions, green chilies, and spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander to make saag pakoras. After coating the leaves with batter, they are deep-fried until crisp and golden.
During the monsoon season, when fresh green leafy vegetables are abundant and at their best, Indian cuisine favours the tasty, crispy, and healthy saag pakoras as a snack or appetiser. Try these following types of green leaf fritters or saag pakora:
1. Bathua Pakora:
The green leafy vegetable that is popularly known as bathua or Chenopodium album is the leafy green that has become a staple in Indian cooking. When cooked, it becomes soft and its taste becomes mildly to strongly sour and a bit earthy. The way to get pakoras ready is to soak and cut the leaves into pieces, add pepper powder, cilantro, and gram flour batter, and then mix them. After coating the leaves with batter, which is thick, then deep fry the leaves until they are crisp. Bathua fritters dip into tamarind sauce or mint chutney are an ultimate pair for a delicious snack.
Video Credit: YouTube/ Seema Rohilla
2. Arbi Patta Pakora:
Arbi Patta is a leafy plant which comes under tropical trees. It is also known as Colocasia or commonly, Taro. It is similar to spinach and collard for the nutty and earthy taste after cooking. The method of preparation for Arbi Patta Pakora is to dip the leaves in a mix that is made of spicy gram-flour (besan) and then deep-fry them such that it turns golden-brown and crispy. In fact, those life-giving pakoras are often accompanied with tamarind or green chutney for an appetising taste-twist. These are a great monsoon delicacy.
3. Palak Ke Pakore:
The word "palak patta" refers to leafy greens that are palak or spinach. Leaves from the palak or spinach plants are prominently used in Indian cuisine. Palak Ke Pakore are a popular snack; palak ke pakore is obtained by a process where besan batter is filled with spinach leaves along with the spices like Chilli powder, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Batter of greens is applied, and they are fried deep to be crisp and brownish. These pakoras are crispy and they are sweet and a bit spicy in flavour. They are flavoured with spices like chaat masala and served with a spot of tamarind or green chutney for companionship.
4. Sarso Ke Saag Ke Pakore:
Sarso Ka Saag is a popular green leafy vegetable of Punjab. Besides the conventional way of including mustard greens there are other ways as well to prepare it . It has a mellow-minty and impending bitterness with a little peppery aftertaste. Sarso Ka saag Ka pakora is made by preparing a thick batter using gram flour (besan), spices and water. The greens are dipped in the batter for coating, they are deep fried until they are crispy and turn brown. These spicy pakoras are an amazing companion to the spicy mint-coriander chutney or the sour tamarind chutney while also delicious standalone either as a snack or an appetiser.
5. Kale Saag Ke Pakore:
A thick and solid green leafy vegetable is kale or kale saag. Its taste is typically pungent and often bitter as compared to the common saags. In kale saag ke pakore, the green kale leaves are finely cut and battered in gram flour (besan) which is mixed with chilly powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chopped onion and green chilies. After that, they deep-fried till the rich flavour is captured and the fritters are crispy and golden. These crunchy millet leaf saag pakoras are yummy, in that they are served as an evening snack with a cooled yogurt-based dip or sour mint-coriander chutney.
6. Mooli Ke Saag Ke Pakore:
Radish leaves, which is also known as mooli ke saag, tastes slightly pungent like radish but also has the bitterness of spinach. The leafy green radish is chopped and mixed along with gram flour (besan), chopped onions, chopped green chili, spiced up with black pepper, cumin and coriander is how it is prepared Mooli Ke Saag Ke Pakore. Next, the pakoras are deep fried in hot oil to make them crispy. These fritters are served as a tasty snack that are better when served with tamarind or mint chutney.
7. Dhaniya Saag Ke Pakore:
Dhaniya Saag, also known as cilantro leaves or coriander greens, is a highly flavourful, and minutely spiced green leafy vegetable. The leaves of Dhaniya Saag are blended with gram flour (besan) spiced up with cumin, turmeric, and green chilies along with pinches of red chilies powders for the pakoras. Mix the doughy batter with the leaves and fry them until they are crisp all over. As usual, have these mouthwatering fritters paired with a mint coriander chutney and the whole thing is topped up with some chaat masala just to have an extra kick.
8. Methi Saag Ke Pakore:
Fenugreeks, or greens of Methi are slightly bitter and sweet. Fenugreek are also little bit of relief aftertaste. Fenugreek leaves are being blended with gram flour (besan) culminated together with chilli powder, cumin, turmeric, and chopped onions, green chillies to make Methi Saag Ke Pakore. Roll the blended stuff into miniature balls or tiny circle-shaped patties, then deep fry them until crispy and golden. They could be accompanied with either the tamarind or the mint chutney for the zesty and the cooling feel.
9. Ajwain Saag Ke Pakore:
Among the different saags, ajwain leaves are the most favoured for their strong fragrant flavour, which has an essence similar to that of mint and thyme. Leaves of Ajwain Saag are blended with gram flour (besan) , a pinch of turmeric, chilli powder, a crush of black cumin seeds, and salt. Then gram flour is formulated into round Saag Ke Pakore. Then, at the moment of deep-frying the batter pakore, it becomes golden brown, crispy, and adds the perfect finish to this dish. In general, the pakora is made and served with either tamarind chutney or green chutney, which makes them even more amazing by introducing the perfect combination of the taste of chutney and the cold side dish.
