Pakoras - India's vegetable fritters
Pakoras are the ultimate vegetarian snack from India. They're usually made with potato, onion, or cauliflower, but you can add whatever veggies you like. Pakoras are simple to make and are a great appetizer to impress your guests at a party!
Which veggies to choose?
You can make pakoras with just about any vegetable. Just make sure you choose flavors that go well together! For instance, you can mix onion with zucchini and eggplant. You can also make a blend of carrot, sweet potato, and leek. Cauliflower, on the other hand, goes great with potato and onion. Vegetables with a high water-content, like cucumber and tomato, aren't suitable for making pakoras.
The tastiest pakoras are made with vegetables cut into fine strips or julienne. This allows the veggies to cook swiftly and at the same time.
Pakoras with chicken
Indian pakoras are typically made with vegetables, though you'll occasionally find ones with chicken. The preparation process and spices are the same, only you add shredded pre-cooked chicken to the vegetable mixture.
Making pakora dough
Pakora dough is made with chickpea or gram flour, cold water, and a lot of spices. Many recipes use half gram and half wheat flour, but I learned from an Indian chef to use only chickpea flour. Turmeric, cumin, coriander seeds and chili pepper are typical spices, but blends such as garam masala and tikka masala are also a good choice.
The ratio of dough to vegetables in pakoras is quite small, which makes them a little bit different from a basic fritter.
Storing Pakoras
You can make pakoras ahead of time and save them for later. Just fry them in hot oil for a few minutes without letting them brown. They'll keep in the fridge for about two days or in the freezer longer. Then fry them briefly until crispy.
Serving Pakoras
Pakoras are delicious when served with a dipping sauce or one of the chutneys featured on my blog.
Recipe: vegetable pakoras
Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- ½ zucchini
- ¼ eggplant
- 1 potato
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 cm fresh ginger root
- 150 g chickpea or gram flour
- 200 ml cold water
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon chili powder (Aleppo or Kashmiri)
- Salt
- Oil for frying
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Preparation:
Heat the oil until it reaches 175°C.
Peel and chop the vegetables into thin strips (julienne) and grate the ginger. Mix the vegetables with the fresh coriander and ginger.
Mix the chickpea flour with the spices and three-quarters of the water. You should end up with a fairly thick dough. Add more water if you need to.
Stir the vegetables into the dough.
Use two tablespoons to scoop out small portions of the vegetable mixture and deep fry them in batches until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Drain them and sprinkle with salt.
Serve the pakoras with mint chutney or spicy tomato chutney.
![Pakora 00228]()
Another dish that's always a hit is butter chicken with saffron rice. I'm sure you'll love my foolproof recipe, which I got from an Indian chef from Male.