By Dassana Amit
Last Updated: December 30, 2022
Vegan
4.89 from 9 votes • 17 Comments
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Methi na Gota is a Gujarati deep fried snack of savory and spiced fritters. Basically these fritters are made with besan a.k.a gram flour, fenugreek leaves (methi), banana, spices and herbs.These tasty snack is usually served as a snack during tea time.
About Methi Na Gota
I have had Methi na Gota many times while living in Mumbai. Whenever we would buy mix vegetable pakoda platter from the Gujarati snack shops, they would also add Methi na Gota in the pakora mix.
The texture used to be so soft and spongy, unlike the Onion Pakora or Aloo Pakora that used to be there in the platter. And I would always wonder how they make such soft and fluffy pakoras.
I checked a few cook books that I have, that would give that kind of soft texture and taste in the Methi na Gota. Finally I made my own adaptations after seeing a couple of recipes.
In this Methi na Gotarecipe, ripe bananas are added and they help in making the fritters having the soft and porous texture. You can skip bananas but I would not suggest it. Since they do add a lot of taste, texture, flavor and sweetness in the fritters.
The bitterness of the methi leaves also gets balanced due to the sweetness of the bananas. Also the fritters will brown quickly when frying due to the sugars in the bananas, so you will have a slight darker brown shade in the fritters.
What makes these fritters so soft, fluffy is the addition of bananas and a bit of baking soda. The baking soda helps to leaven the batter a bit making the fritters fluffy, soft and crispy.
This recipe is prepared in a slightly different way. First a thick batter is made and set aside for 30 minutes. During this time, the methi leaves release their juices and thins the batter.
Remember not to make a medium consistency batter in the first go. You will end up with a thin batter later. So do keep this point in mind.
Since this snack is deep fried, ensure to fry the fritters in moderately hot oil. Do use your preferred oil with a high smoke point for deep frying.
Frying at lower temperature will make the gota absorb more oil and frying at a very high heat will make them brown faster from the outside leaving the center undercooked.
If you like methi or fenugreek leaves in your fritters, then do check this recipe of Methi Pakora as well, which has a different ingredient combinations. Thus making it taste way different than the Methi na Gota.
ServeMethi na Gota with any green chutney or mint chutneyor raw papaya chutney. I served these with tomato ketchup.
A cup of MasalaChai will add more, when you are having theMethi na Gota . Enjoy the monsoons snacking these crisp, soft and porous fritters.
Few more Gujarati snacks recipes for you!
- Fafda
- Khaman Dhokla
- Rava Dhokla
- Handvo Recipe
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Methi na Gota
By Dassana Amit
Gujarati methi na gota recipe is a tea time deep fried snack made from besan (also known as gram flour), fresh fenugreek leaves, spices, herbs and banana.
4.89 from 9 votes
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Prep Time 45 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Cuisine Gujarati
Course Snacks
Diet Vegan
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 14 Methi na Gota
Units
Ingredients
- 1 or 1.25 cups besan (gram flour)
- 1 cup methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)
- 1 banana – ripe, medium-sized
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 8 to 10 whole black pepper – crushed
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds – crushed
- 2 pinches of asafoetida (hing)
- 2 to 3 pinches baking soda or ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons oil – to add to the batter
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water or as needed
- 1 green chili + 1 inch ginger, crushed into a paste in a mortar and pestle
- ½ teaspoon sugar – optional
- salt as required
- oil as required for deep frying
Instructions
Making batter
Rinse a few times in water. Drain all the water and then chop the methi leaves finely.
Mash the banana in a bowl to a fine texture. Add the methi leaves to it.
Add all the ingredients including the 2 teaspoons of oil.
Add very little water, about 1 or 2 tablespoons and make a thick batter, like a thick cake batter.
We are making a thick batter first so that later, the batter will become thin as the methi leaves will start to leave water. This also depends on how much water content the methi leaves have.
Keep this batter covered aside for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes check the batter.
The batter should be of medium to medium-thick and smooth, flowing consistency.
If the batter is still thick then you can add a few teaspoons of water.
Frying methi na gota
Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or deep fryer.
When the oil is medium hot. Drop the batter from 1 tablespoon measuring spoon into the hot oil.
Take care not to touch the spoon with the hot oil. You can also use a regular spoon.
As soon as you drop the spoonful of batter in the oil, they will start puffing up and expand a bit and becoming brown.
Since we have added bananas the browning happens faster. So fry on a medium hot oil.
Fry the methi na gota till golden and crispy all over.
Drain the fritters on paper towels to remove excess oil. This way finish up the batter by frying in batches.
Serve Methi na Gota hot with any green chutney or tomato ketchup.
Notes
- First make a thick batter and then let it rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the batter will thin down a bit due to the methi leaves releasing their juices. If the batter becomes too thin, add some gram flour. The batter has a medium-thick to medium flowing consistency.
- Ensure to fry in medium-hot oil. Frying in a very hot oil will leave the methi na gota undercooked from inside. Frying at a lower temperature will make them absorb more oil.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
Nutrition Facts
Methi na Gota
Amount Per Serving
Calories 117Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 0.4g3%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Sodium 146mg6%
Potassium 198mg6%
Carbohydrates 15g5%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 25IU1%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.1mg7%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.03mg2%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 0.4mg2%
Vitamin B6 0.1mg5%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Vitamin E 1mg7%
Vitamin K 2µg2%
Calcium 79mg8%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 86µg22%
Iron 1mg6%
Magnesium 35mg9%
Phosphorus 65mg7%
Zinc 1mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This Methi na Gota recipe from the archives first published in July 2013 has been updated and republished on December 2022.
