Betel Leaves or Paan Fritters |Tamalapaku Pakoda Recipe is my second post for the #blogchatterA2Z challenge.
Fusion food is a treasure house of exotic recipes and Betel Leaves or Paan Fritters |Tamalapaku Pakoda Recipe is a rare jewel amongst them. Down south Betel Leaves or Tamalapaku as they are called in Andhra are used for most religious ceremonies. Paan leaves are replete with vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin and carotene and ofcourse are a great source of calcium. I am lactose intolerant and I am always calcium deficient. I started growing the betel vine so that I can chew on a leaf every day. Chewing on a leaf when you have a cough works wonders. We all know that Betel leaves are good for digestion as traditionally Paan is eaten after a meal. The betel vine is growing really well and now I am using it in different recipes and enjoying the experience.
Breaking away from tradition, here I have made crisp and tasty Betel Leaves or Paan Fritters |Tamalapaku Pakoda Recipe from the fresh leaves which I am growing in my organic garden. Just wash and dry fresh tender betel leaves and dip them in gram flour batter and fry till they are red and glowing.
Betel leaves are metamorphosing from just a betel leaf for Paan into a flavoured choice for food and drink. From just ending the meal with the betel leaf you can start with a Vodka Paan Thandai drink and move on to these betel leaf fritters or wraps or even egg rolls, Paan pulao and end it with a Paan kulfi or ice cream which I will be making soon. Try out the Chocolate Paan I have posted earlier.
Ingredients for Betel Leaves or Paan Fritters |Tamalapaku Pakoda Recipe
10 betel leaves
2 cups of besan or gram flour
Pinch of baking soda (optional)
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp of ajwain
6 flakes Garlic crushed
1 tsp of chat masala
Oil for frying
1 tsp of cumin powder
Method
Sieve the besan or gram flour and add all the dry ingredients, garlic except baking soda. Add little water first then stir it properly with the whisk.
Add sufficient water to make the pakora batter and mix well so that the batter is smooth without lumps. The batter should not be very thin or very thick, it should be of coating consistency.Keep aside for 20 mins.
If you let the batter rest then there is no need to add baking soda. That is what I do as I do not like to use baking soda much.
Take tender betel leaves and wash them nicely. Dry them on a paper towel. You can even chop the betel leaves and add to the batter but I like the whole leaf.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Once it is hot dip the betel leaves one by one in the batter and slowly slide in the oil. Fry until golden brown and crisp.
Drain the crispy betel leaf pakoras onto a kitchen towel. Betel Leaves Fritters |Tamalapaku Pakodas are ready to serve.
Serve Betel Leaves Fritters |Tamalapaku Pakoda Recipe, hot with mint chutney or ketchup or any dip of your choice.
Tips
Use only tender and light green color leaves as the older, dark green leaves will have a pungent taste.
Chop the leaves if you want smaller fritters or cut into four.
They are so cute! I never knew that they can be used to make fries.
Hahaha…thanks Sanjota….i am a crazy cook…keep trying all sorts of things. I had made betel leaf thandai too for Holi. Thank you for stopping by and keep in touch for more novel recipes 🙂
Betel leaf is used in religious ceremonies in Bengal too. But for the first time I have learnt that one can make fritters out of Paan ki Patti. Interesting indeed. Thank you for writing this post.
Thanks a ton, Abhijit. I don’t use them for religious purposes so I keep searching for ways to use them. I had made betel leaf thandai too for Holi. Thank you for stopping by and keep in touch for more novel recipes 🙂
This is the first time I have heard of tamalapaaku pakodi! Thank you for a new and novel recipe.
Cheers
Meena
http://www.balconysunrise.wordpress.com
Thank you so much Meena….i just keep trying everything in my garden. I had made betel leaf thandai too for holi. Thank you for stopping by and keep in touch for more novel recipes 🙂
First time I am hearing of this… love the effort youve put into this post
Godyears.net
Thank u so much…appreciation of the effort encourages me to better myself.
Something new and innovative for me. Will try for sure.
Thanks Priyanka 🙂 Please do try.
Betel pakora, sounds interesting, have till date tried palak pakora only in leafy things. sure to try.
It is quite interesting 🙂 I make ajwain patta pakoda too and they are so yummy and pretty. Do try them.
First time I am hearing about Betel Fritters. Nice and interesting and will try it out.
Thanks for stopping by Suhasini. It is quite interesting 🙂 they are so yummy and pretty. Do try them. #blogchatterA2Z
Paan fritters, wow that’s new for me. Would like to try it for sure.
Thank you, Dipika. My garden prods me into crazy experiments and this was a winner. Please do try. 🙂
This is teh 1st time I’ve heard of Paan Pakodas! They look so tempting! Thanks for introducing these to us.
Pleasure is all mine Mayuri.Hope you try them out 🙂
Never heard of this before, Sounds very interesting, Shared with my family too.
Thank u so much Vartika. I am growing the betel vine and it grows wild…so looking for options. I made Paan Thandai for Holi and chocolate paan earlier. Maybe I would steam some minced meat in them next. Thank you for stopping by.
I’m already a fan of your creative dishes. We use paan during auspicious ocassions and meetha paan is a Bengali favorite. Your effort in creating someth so unique is really commendable
Wow! This is a new dish for me. Have never heard about betel leaves pakodas. I am imagining its taste. Thanks for the recipe, will try it out.
Shilpa Garg #AtoZChallenge
My pleasure Shilpa….thanks for appreciation. Please do try and share.
Completely new recipe! Never knew this can be cooked into fritters. Thanks for posting a video in which you are making it from betel grown in your garden.
https://evergreenleaf.blogspot.com/2019/04/b-bud-to-bloom.html
It is my pleasure entirely 🙂 Glad u liked it