Air Fryer Recipe
Crispy Lentil and Spinach Pakoras
These crispy lentil and spinach pakoras make a lovely snack, with the air fryer giving them a crunchy outside and a soft, savoury middle.
Ingredients
- 150g split red lentils, rinsed
- 80g gram flour
- 120g fresh spinach, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 15g fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp asafoetida, optional
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp rice flour or cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2–4 tbsp cold water, if needed
Method
- Soak the rinsed lentils in cold water for 2 hours, or in just-boiled water for 35–40 minutes, then drain them well.
- Pulse two-thirds of the lentils with the lemon juice, ginger, garlic and 1 tbsp oil in a food processor until you have a coarse paste.
- Tip the paste into a bowl, then mix in the remaining lentils, gram flour, rice flour, baking powder, spices, salt, onion, chillies and spinach.
- Leave the mixture to rest for 10 minutes while you preheat the air fryer to 190°C.
- Shape the mixture into rough mounds and arrange them in the air fryer basket lined with parchment, or on an oiled crisper plate.
- Brush or spray the tops with oil and air fry at 190°C for 8 minutes, then turn them and cook for another 5–7 minutes.
- If you like, increase the temperature to 200°C for the final 1–2 minutes to make them extra crunchy.
- Let the pakoras rest on a wire rack for 3 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
