Pui Shaker Bora ( Malabar Spinach Lentil Fritters)

Pui Shaker Bora – A popular Bengali tea-time snack made with malabar spinach, red lentils and spices. These crispy and flavorful fritters make a perfect addition to any festive spread!

What is pui shak bora?

Pui Shak er bora is a traditional Bengali style fried fritters made with pui shak, or Malabar Spinach, red lentils, and spices. These are crispy outside and soft inside.

To make these fritters, the malabar spinach leaves, onions, chillies. rice flour and spices are mixed with a batter made of soaked red lentils or masoor dal, then deep fried until golden brown and crispy.

It is a popular and delicious tea-time snacks in Bengal and Bangladesh. These are often served with ketchup or chutney.

Ingredients:

Malabar Spinach – You can replace it with chopped spinach if you can’t find malabar spinach.

Red Lentils – You could also use equal quantity of moong dal / split mung beans in the place of red lentils/masoor dal.

Ginger Garlic Paste – Do not skip adding ginger and garlic. If you want to use fresh garlic cloves and chopped ginger, grind it along with soaked lentils.

Rice Flour – It helps as a binding agent and makes them crispy. You can replace it with any other flour.

Turmeric Powder – This is totally optional.

Cumin – Do not skip adding cumin. It helps in digestion. You can also replace it with crushed or ground coriander seeds.

Onion – You could use any type of onion in this recipe.

Green Chillies – You can substitute with other types of fresh or dried chilies.

Storage suggestions:

The fried fritters can be stored at room temperature for up to a day. If you have any leftovers, store them in the refrigerator, but note that they will lose their crispiness. To reheat, use a microwave or oven.

You can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a day or two. Remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temperature before deep-frying in hot oil.

Serving suggestions:

It can be served as a snack or appetizer on any occasion. It’s a perfect tea-time or party snack during holi parties or diwali parties.

It tastes great with any Indian chutneys such as green chutney or tamarind chutney. They can also be served with tomato ketchup or any other dips.

Tips & Notes:

Do not reduce the soaking time, it helps making the batter smooth and improves the texture of the fritters.

After soaking the lentils, make sure to drain the excess water to prevent runny batter. The batter should be thick enough. Otherwise, it will be difficult to shape the fritters.

Make sure you are using fresh and tender malabar spinach for the best flavor and texture.

Do not fry them over a low flame.

Step by step instructions:

Wash and soak red lentils in plenty of water for 2-3 hours.

Drain water and grind the soaked lentils to a smooth batter. Add little water while grinding if needed.

Transfer it to a mixing bowl.

Rinse malabar spinach leaves and discard any hard stems. Chop the leaves and add them to the lentil batter.

Add chopped onions, ginger onion paste, chopped green chilli, turmeric powder, rice flour, salt and cumin powder to the batter.

Mix everything well to make a thick batter. Add more flour if you feel the batter is not thick enough.

Take a small portion of the prepared batter and gently drop them into the hot oil.

Deep fry them over the medium-high flame until they are crispy and golden brown color.

Take them out of the oil and place them on a kitchen towel to remove all the excess oil.

Serve hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

Few more Indian snacks:

• Dhapate
• Paneer Puff
• Chocolate Makhana
• Matar Chaat
• Avarekalu Vada
• Hare Pyaz Ke Pakode
• Rajasthani Mirchi Vada
• Chura Matar
• Broccoli Pakora

How to make pui shaker bora recipe video below: