Leek pakoda
A fritter treat that delivers in more ways than one
Hey there! I’m Apoorva Sripathi, a writer, editor, and artist. This week’s paid subscriber newsletter contains a recipe for leek pakoda that uses up whatever greens you have on hand to make a light, crunchy fritter. If you’d like to support my work, please consider a paid subscription. Thank you.
I’m very grateful and lucky that I grew up with a mother who saw the value in deep frying and passed it onto my sister and me. I don’t remember a time when she had outlawed the consumption of fried stuff; if she didn’t make it at home, she’d bring something fried on her way back from work from the local restaurant. I think we’re built on snacks, my sister and I.
Deep frying is a labour of love, like painstakingly building layers of lasagne, but it is also one of unbridled pleasure. You can make this for someone you love, for small dinner parties, for guests, but like all my recipes this one too is an act of kindness you should perform for yourself because it is worth it. You’re worth it. And if you move past what comes immediately after, aka the inevitable cleanup, you’ll arrive at the question of ‘what to do with the leftover oil1’. Thankfully my mother has an answer to this – use it in stir fries, curries, for making dosais and other dishes that don’t require much else. The leftover oil adds both a robust and a delicate allium flavour to dishes that comes without the chopping of onions beforehand.
This is a recipe that keeps on giving, both love and utility, and asks only one thing in return – kindness.
This is the last paid newsletter for this year from me. Thank you to everyone who read my words, especially my paid subscribers whose support kept this going. If you’re a free subscriber reading this, please give a thought to going paid – I’ll be offering more for paid subscribers from next year onwards, including a partnership with the amazing
for access to their online feminist food club. Happy new year 2025!