Pattanam Pakoda or Patnam Pakodi is a famous street food of then Madras now Chennai! These deep-fried fritters are easy to make, delicious, and hard to resist. Check out the detailed patnam pakoda recipe with step-wise pictures.
Pakoda or pakora are deep-fried flour-based fritters with or without vegetables, and they are one of the famous Indian snacks.
This patinam pakoda is also known as medhu (soft) pakoda or Madras pakora or Madras pakoda. Madras is the old name of Chennai. While there are so many reasons and theories behind the name Chennai, one notable view is that the name Chennai came from Chennaipattanam. That fits perfectly, and now you know why we call this pakoda as pattanam pakoda or pattinam pakoda.
I learned this recipe as part of the Indian Cooking Challenge, where we try the rare delicacies from all over India. This recipe is from one of the bloggers Padma, who learned this from her Grandma. And her Grandma got it from her sister, who was living in the then state of Madras Presidency. :-) You can find the base recipe in the Indian cooking challenge page.
I did not deviate from the original recipe. So far, I have tried adding mint leaves or fennel seeds. That’s about it. But you can very well add finely chopped veggies like cabbage, spinach, carrot, etc. But do not add too much. Also, be cautious while adding water. Do not add all the water at once. Add little by little. I have given the exact measure that I used, but it might differ based on the brand, quality of the flour that you are using.
Flours used in this Pattanam Pakoda-
This pattanam pakoda uses three different flours – rice flour, chickpea flour, or besan or kadalai maavu as we say in Tamil and roasted gram flour or pottukadalai maavu. Don’t worry about the long list of ingredients or the flours. Trust me, folks; this pattanam pakoda is one of the easy pakoda recipes. It’s very forgiving. Just be cautious while adding water. Check the recipe notes for quick fixes. :-)
For roasted gram flour, just grind ½ cup of the roasted gram/pottukadalai and set aside ¼ cup measure.
PS – Roasted chickpeas are the split daliya, the one that we use for coconut chutney. It is also known as roasted gram, fried gram, etc. The roasted gram flour is different from besan, and I haven’t tried without that flour or using any substitutes. I will update this post when I do the same.
Now without any further ado, here is the detailed pattanam pakoda recipe with step-wise pictures.
How to make medhu pakoda or pattanam pakoda?
- In a mixing bowl, add the ghee and baking soda.
- Using a hand whisk to mix them nicely until it is frothy and well combined. You can mix it with your hands too.
- Now add the other ingredients as well – rice flour, roasted gram flour, besan, onion, ginger, green chili, cilantro, curry leaves, mint leaves, cumin seeds, salt, and red chili powder.
- Mix them all.
- Sprinkle water little by little and mix to form a soft yet firm dough. Add water as required. I used ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp. You need ⅓ to ½ cup for this measure.
- Heat the oil for frying. Meanwhile, take a small portion of the dough and roll into small balls (small gooseberry size would do). Similarly, roll the balls with the remaining mixture and keep it ready for frying.
- When the oil is hot, slowly drop the pakodas in batches and fry in medium heat till they turn golden brown and crisp.
- Place the fried pakodas on a tissue paper to drain the excess oil.
- Serve hot with chutney or sauce of your choice.
Recipe Notes-
- The original recipe calls for 2 tbsp / 6 tsps of ghee and 1 tsp of baking soda, and I went with the same measure. You can reduce it to 1 tbsp, but I would not recommend reducing it further or using more. The pakoda might disintegrate while frying.
- Coming to that, while frying the first batch, if you notice the pakoda are disintegrating, then add one or two tbsp of rice flour, mix gently and fry again. Small cracks in the pakodas are perfectly fine.
- I used yellow onions. But red would be preferable.
- You can add ¼ cup of finely chopped vegetables like cabbage, carrot or spinach.
- Add water as required. Do not add all water at once. Add 1 tbsp at a time and mix the flour.
- Adjust salt and spices according to your preference.
If you like this medhu pakoda, then do check out my other snack recipes.
PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this pattanam pakoda recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!
📖 Recipe
Pattanam Pakoda | Patnam Pakodi | Medhu Pakoda
Ingredients
Measurement details - 1 cup - 240 ml, 1 tbsp - 15 ml, 1 tsp - 5 ml
- 2 tbsp ghee melted
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¼ cup roasted gram flour pottukadalai maavu / daliya flour. (grind ½ cup of roasted gram / roasted split chickpeas and set aside ¼ cup of flour)
- 1 tbsp besan
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (you can add a tsp of fennel seeds also)
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cashews break into small pieces
- 1 green chili deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp red chili powder or to taste
- 5 curry leaves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- 2 tsp mint leaves finely chopped, optional.
- ⅓ to ½ cup water
- 1.5 cups oil approx for deep frying
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the ghee and baking soda and using a hand whisk mix them nicely until it is frothy and well combined. You can mix it with your hands also.
- Now add the other ingredients as well - rice flour, roasted gram flour, besan, onion, ginger, green chili, cilantro, curry leaves, mint leaves, cumin seeds, salt, and red chili powder.
- Mix them all. Sprinkle water little by little and mix to form a soft yet firm dough. Add water as required. I used ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp. You need ⅓ to ½ cup for this measure.
- Heat the oil for frying. Meanwhile, take a small portion of the dough and roll into small balls (small gooseberry size would do). Similarly, roll the balls with the remaining mixture and keep it ready for frying.
- When the oil is hot, slowly drop the pakodas in batches and fry in medium heat till they turn golden brown and crisp.
- Place the fried pakodas on a tissue paper to drain the excess oil.
- Serve hot with chutney or sauce of your choice.
Notes
- The original recipe calls for 2 tbsp / 6 tsps of ghee and 1 tsp of baking soda, and I went with the same measure. You can reduce it to 1 tbsp, but I would not recommend reducing it further or using more. The pakoda might disintegrate while frying.
- Coming to that, while frying the first batch, if you notice the pakoda are disintegrating, then add one or two tbsp of rice flour, mix gently and fry again. Small cracks in the pakodas are perfectly fine.
- I used yellow onions. But red would be preferable.
- You can add ¼ cup of finely chopped vegetables like cabbage, carrot or spinach.
- Add water as required. Do not add all water at once. Add 1 tbsp at a time and mix the flour.
- Adjust salt and spices according to your preference.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2015 but now updated with new pics and recipe cards.
amazing and nice post !
thank you
Thanks
Looks goood!!! Never heard of this pakodi before. Very interesting recipe! Will try it sometime.
Thanks. Please do try and I am sure you will love it.
These clicks look so yummy
Thanks pa. :-)
First time I am hearing about this snack Srividhya.. and these looks so delicious and crispy.. Will try to make it when time permits..
We tried this recipe as a part of the Indian Cooking Challenge. That’s when I got to know about this recipe too. :-) Thanks
Perfect patnam pakoda, I don’t need an occasion to have them…. can gobble anytime! Nice post Vidya!
Thanks and so true Mullai. We can gobble this anytime
I’m not a fan of pakodas in general.. give me bajjis anyday. Potatoes, brinjal, chilli.. I love them all.. but simply fried bengal gram flour doesn’t usually appeal to me. Having said that, you made the pic look so tempting. I almost feel like picking one right now!
Looks like this has been a busy time for you. When is your upcoming India trip?
Now I know what to serve as appetizer when you come. Sending you an email. :-)
First time here..lovely blog…Nice evening snack, will try it sometime
Welcome here Gayathri.. Let me know how it turned out.. now hopping to yours ;-)
Srividhya, you are right, the name refers to be Tamil and Telugu words. Patnam means city in telugu and Patinam refers to the same..I had given the story behind the recipe..:)..looks like the pakodis have turned out great..glad you joined ..
Yeah Valli saw that. Interesting to read about pre independence Madras state. Thanks for the recipe and share. :-)
Perfectly made crispy pakodas Vidya.
Thanks Pavani
Lovely post. Would love to share a story about the name (my nannies version). Pattanam means town and those days only the affluent in town was able to afford this fries. Plus it is more of a street food.
Welcome here Deepa and thanks for sharing the story about the name. Interesting..
It has started raining here, Vidhya and these would be so perfect with my afternoon Cuppa!
oh yeah absolutely.. :-)
Looks so yummy – especially on a rainy day it would be awesome :) Quite interesting the name is.. :)
yeah absolutely.. interesting name naa…
Sema tempting irukku.. One of my fav.. Nice clicks Sri
Thanks Vidya
I was also thinking about madrasapattinam when I heard the name of this recipe…
he he effect of the movie I think ;-)