Pata Bhaja

Batter-fried Spinach

Vegetarian●●●Origin West BengalPrep 5 minutesCook 10 minutes

Crisp, golden batter-coated spinach leaves deep-fried in mustard oil for a delicate, crunchy snack.

Ingredients

23 g3 tablespoons

flour

to taste

salt

228 g250 ml

oil/fat

120 g12 leaves

vegetable

In a bowl, combine 3 tbsp flour with salt to taste and a few drops of the 228 g mustard oil, then whisk in just enough water to yield a runny, smooth batter.
Pour the remaining mustard oil into a wok or kadhai and bring it to smoking point, then lower the heat.
Coat the 12 spinach leaves in the batter one by one and fry them individually until crisp and golden.
Lift out the fried leaves with a slotted spoon and transfer them onto paper towels to drain.

Plain flour

Whole wheat flour
Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.
Rice flour
Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.
Cornflour
For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Mustard oil

Peanut oil
Use equal weight. It handles high-heat cooking well, but lacks the signature pungent, nasal heat of mustard oil.
Vegetable oil
Use equal weight. Neutral in flavour, so your curry will lack the characteristic Bengali or North Indian pungent punch.

Spinach

Amaranth leaves
Use equal weight; trim tough stems and cook as directed. Yields a very similar melting texture, though red varieties will tint the dish.
Radish leaves
Use equal weight, finely chopped. Slightly more peppery, so sauté for two minutes longer to soften the bite.
Mustard greens
Use 75% of the weight, finely shredded. Adds a robust, peppery bitterness; balance with a tiny pinch of sugar if needed.

Same: Both recipes feature spinach leaves seasoned with salt and deep-fried in mustard oil.
Different: Pata Bhaja explicitly lists spinach in its weighed ingredients and specifies an airy gram flour coating, while otherwise using the exact same amount of mustard oil and salt.

Same: Palak also uses spinach cooked in mustard oil and seasoned with salt.
Different: Instead of battering and deep-frying the greens, Palak sautés them with whole coriander seeds and dried red chillies.

Same: Both dishes use spinach as their primary ingredient.
Different: Palang ka Kapha is a simmered, puréed gravy cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, chillies, ghee, and vegetable oil, whereas this dish consists of whole leaves deep-fried in mustard oil.

Same: Sarson da Saag shares spinach, salt and mustard oil with this dish.
Different: Sarson da Saag adds mustard greens, radish leaves, amaranth, green chilli, ginger, basmati rice, cornstarch and butter and is slow-cooked into a purée, while this dish is plain-flour-battered spinach deep-fried in mustard oil.