Methi pakoda, learn how to make a quick and easy snack using methi leaves and besan. Goes fabulous with Indian masala tea or coffee. Enjoy!
My love for methi or fenugreek leaves has been a badly kept secret around here. Starting from Methi Pulao to Aloo Methi to Methi Paratha to adding methi to Paneer Butter Masala, I have tried it all. I even made Methi Matar Malai last month and loved it! In spite of experimenting quite a lot with these aromatic, slightly bitter greens, I never seem to tire of them and buy a large fresh bunch of fenugreek leaves when I see them in the market.
After making another round of Methi Pulao, I had about 2 cups of methi leaves left and was wondering if I could make a quick snack with methi. Finally decided on these delicious Methi Pakodas which were meant to be a snack for tea but we practically finished it off as a side with rice and Pumpkin Kootu.
The flavour and bitterness of the methi leaves complement perfectly with the besan and onions and spices in the pakoda batter. These methi pakods don't take longer than 15 mins from start to finish so make some if you are looking for a good recipe with fresh fenugreek leaves.
Also check out: 10 quick and easy snack recipes under 15 minutes
Methi pakoda recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup of fresh methi leaves cleaned and chopped coarsely (see notes)
- ¾ cup of besan / gram flour / kadalai maavu
- 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon of asafoetida / hing / perungaayam
- 1 onion sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon of powdered jeera
- ¼ teaspoon of ajwain / omam optional
- 1 teaspoon of salt adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon of rice flour or semolina / rava
- 2-3 cups of oil for deep frying depending on size of your pan
Instructions
- Mix together besan, rava or rice flour, onions, salt, chilli powder, ajwain, jeera, and hing.
- Add enough water to make a thick batter that falls off your spoon with some resistance
- Mix in the methi leaves
- Heat oil for deep frying
- Using a tablespoon, add spoonfuls of pakoda batter into the hot oil
- Fry the pakoda until golden brown
- Drain and set aside on a plate lined with a kitchen towel
- Serve methi pakoda hot with ketchup or mint chutney
Step by Step Pictures to Make Methi Pakoda:
1. Mix besan, onions, salt, chilli powder, ajwain, jeera, and hing well together
2. Add enough water to make a thick batter. Also mix in the methi leaves. The batter should be thick enough for you to form a loose, sticky ball with your fingers.
3. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. You can also use your hands to drop small balls of batter into the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan otherwise the oil temperature will drop too much and the pakods will drink too much oil.
4. Fry until golden brown, drain, and set aside. Proceed until you use up all the batter.
Notes:
- Here's a list of all Recipes with Methi Leaves I have shared in Edible Garden.
- I find that chopping methi leaves releasing a lot of its bitter juices so you can add the methi leaves whole if you want (removed of stalks completely). This is for those of you who don't like the bitterness of methi
- You can also use a paniyaram pan to make the methi pakodas
- Add these pakodas to khadi and you have some delicious Methi Pakoda Kadhi! Here's my basic Kadhi Recipe if you want to go that route.
For methi pakoda recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
Amit Pattnaik
Interesting recipe, The pakodas do look really enticing. Now that the monsoon is here, the evenings (especially those of the weekends) call for such hot and spicy pakodas.. What could be better than just sitting by the balcony and enjoying the rains, sipping hot tea and such pakodas. Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂