(Note: This is my first food post!)
The first time I went to Veda for a meal (a restaurant at Palladium in Mumbai), I ordered the palak (spinach) chaat. It was yum- a great fine dining touch to street food. Since then, it’s been a must-repeat dish for me, and while the restaurant’s food quality is inconsistent, this dish is always par excellence.
Last weekend, Indian street food was my “theme” for Sunday night dinner, so chaats were on my menu. After debating between the classic Papri Chaat (another restaurant special) and this one, I opted for the latter. And the result?
Ta-dah!
My palak chaat recipe is adapted from various sources. Family members provided the pakora recipe, while the toppings were inspired by the original restaurant dish.
As with all things fried, the hubby took charge of the slotted spoon while I did the rest. There’s something about frying I just don’t like, mostly to do with the copious amount of oil that is used!
Enjoy the chaat!
Ingredients for palak pakora:
1 cup gram flour (besan)
10 spinach leaves (stalks removed), washed thoroughly and dried
3/4 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1- 1.5 cups water
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Ingredients for chaat topping:
1 potato, boiled and chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 – 1 cup curd
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
Handful of sev
Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the pakora to make a batter. Keep it aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan. While the oil gets warm, dip a spinach leaf in the batter until the leaf is fully coated. Check if the oil is hot by dropping a little batter into the oil- it should sizzle. Add the batter-coated spinach leaf and fry. Repeat this for the rest of the leaves. Place spinach pakoras on paper napkins to absorb the oil.
Making the chaat:
Arrange the pakoras on a large plate or tray. Top off each spinach pakora with some chopped potatoes, tomatoes and onions, curd, chaat masala, red chilli powder and sev.
Tips for making palak chaat:
- When shopping for spinach, look for a bunch with small leaves so the pakoras are easier to handle.
- You can use less curd and skip the tomatoes to let the crunchiness of the pakora come through.