Swiss Chard Fritters
These Indian inspired Swiss chard fritters are light and airy and perfectly crispy. And they are loaded with good-for-you spices and chickpea flour. They are also vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free.
Servings: 16 servings (approx)
Calories: 148kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10-12 leaves Swiss chard (chop into thin ribbons, then run the knife once again through the leaves at a right angle to chop the ribbons into smaller pieces)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cups chickpea flour (besan)
- ½ cup rice flour
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (like cayenne or paprika, for less heat)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (optional, but gives the pakoras an airier texture)
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves, optional))
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
- Salt to taste
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Coarsely powder the cumin seeds and carom seeds (ajwain) in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
- Heat oil for frying in a wok or frying pan or deep fryer. You should have enough oil to immerse the pakoras completely. Between 325 and 350 degrees is the best temperature to fry these fritters.
- Place the chopped Swiss chard and onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the chickpea flour, rice flour, coarsely ground cumin and carom seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ground coriander, cilantro, and dried fenugreek seeds and baking soda, if using, to the bowl.
- Add salt to taste.
- Mix the ingredients and then slowly drizzle in enough water, mixing as you do so, until all the leafies are evenly coated with the flour and spices. You don't want a very loose batter. It should hold together tentatively when you press it together.
- Place small portions of the batter into the hot oil, being very careful as you do so. You can do this with a spoon. Don't overcrowd the pan.
- Fry the fritters until they are golden-brown on each side but don't let them overbrown--pakoras continue to darken a bit after you take them out of the oil.
- Place the pakoras in a colander lined with paper towels.
- Eat hot!
Notes
- For the nutritional info I assumed that the pakoras absorbed ½ cup vegetable oil during deep frying. But as you can see, even with that assumption, a serving of approximately six pakoras has under 150 calories and 4 grams of protein.
- If you are eating low carb you can skip the rice flour and add more chickpea flour instead. That would cut down net carbs to 10 grams per serving.
- For the crispiest pakoras maintain the oil at a temperature between 325 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nutrition
Serving: 6fritters | Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1872IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg