Vegetable Pakora (Crunchy Indian Fritters)

These crispy, crunchy vegetable pakora fritters are the ultimate appetizer. They also make a great snack for game day -- or a rainy day!

Pakoras are among the easiest Indian foods you can make. But if you're looking to up your game, I have for you a step-by-step guide to making the best vegetable pakoras you've ever cooked--or eaten. Learn how to make a pakora that tastes amazing and stays crunchy hours after you've made it. Even better, you can prep the batter and veggies in 10-15 minutes (with more time needed for frying). Or make tweaks and additions that will make you look like a pro Indian chef! This is a gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free recipe, and despite being deep-fried it has healthy ingredients with the assortment of veggies, chickpea flour and spices.

Pakoras (also called pakoda/bhujia/bhaji depending on where in India you are) are an omnipresent dish on every Indian restaurant appetizer menu, and for good reason. These crunchy fritters taste so good and the fact that they are made with ingredients that are actually good for you takes away some of the guilt of eating a deep-fried food.

In India and in Indian homes around the world, these golden fritters are synonymous with celebrations -- and rainy days. A cup of masala chai with pakoras is the ultimate comfort food for an Indian when the skies turn gloomy and gray. This is also a popular Indian street food and you can eat it standing right by the food cart with the sounds of the busy city keeping you company.

On a recent Sunday, with the icicles on the trees still melting here in the northeastern United States and the promise of more snow to come, I pulled out my cast iron Indian wok, a kadhai, and made these mixed vegetable pakoras for my eager family. Jay loves pakoras and can eat an entire batch by himself, which is not surprising given that this is an eminently child-friendly food with all the crunchiness involved. However, the fact that he is also getting some veggies into his tummy makes me feel not so bad about the indulgence.

With all the gray days we've been dealing with, I wanted to put together for you some of my best tips and tricks gleaned over years of making pakoras, so you can try them in your home. When I first started I made a rather basic version, the way my mom did, with besan or chickpea flour, cayenne, turmeric, salt and cumin. Her version was delicious, especially eaten seconds after cooking, but the version I have for you today is, if possible, even better.

This recipe makes a lot of pakoras so it's perfect to serve to a crowd. Or save leftovers (if you have any) and reheat for a much-anticipated snack for another time. It is bound to become one of your favorite Indian recipes!

Why you'll love this pakora recipe

• It makes the most delicious pakoras. These pakoras are perfectly spiced and crispy. The veggies hiding underneath that golden coat melt in your mouth.
• It is versatile. Once you've mastered the batter, you can make pakoras with nearly any veggie, and even with leafies. It's a great way to even get veggies like eggplant and okra into those little bellies. I also shared with you, years ago, a recipe for zucchini blossoms pakoras, which are quite, quite perfect.
• It is easy. It takes very little skill to make pakoras. You do have to watch a couple of things: get the batter to the right thickness and do not over-fry the pakoras. You also have to make sure that you salt your batter right because you can't salt your pakoras after they are done. But I'll show you exactly how to do all of this.
• It is everyone-friendly. Like I said before, this is one of the most kid-friendly recipes out there. It is also nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free and already vegan.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups chickpea flour (besan). The flour sold here in the United States as garbanzo bean flour is more coarsely ground and is not suitable for pakoras. You need besan, which is more finely ground and forms a consistent, smooth batter. You can buy besan easily at an Indian store or online.
• 6 tablespoon rice flour. You can use brown rice flour, if you can find it, or any rice flour. Make sure it is finely ground. The rice flour adds more crunch and helps keep the pakoras crunchy long after you've cooked them.
• 1 teaspoon cayenne or any red chilli powder that's moderately spicy. Use less if you can't tolerate heat, more if you like your pakoda spicy. You can also use minced fresh green chili peppers.
• ½ teaspoon turmeric. This adds great color to the pakora, and also more healthfulness.
• 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds) + 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Grind both coarsely by either running a knife through the seeds or in a mortar and pestle before adding.
• 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (optional). This adds nice flavor but leave it out if you don't have it, or add a teaspoon of dry mint leaves. You can also use two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro.
• Salt to taste. I use 11/2 teaspoons. Taste the batter after adding a teaspoon and keep in mind that the fritters will taste a little less salty than the batter will, so adjust the salt to your liking.
• 1 ½ cups water
• 5 cups chopped vegetables. I used a cup of purple cabbage, 1 medium zucchini, 1 potato and 1 medium onion (cabbage makes amazing pakora). See notes below for additional veggies you can use.
• Oil for deep frying. Although I usually use avocado oil for most cooking, I use peanut oil for most of my deep frying, as most Indians would. It is also more economical. However, you can use any vegetable oil that has a high smoke point, including sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Stay away from coconut oil, which would add a strong flavor to the pakoras, and from olive oil.

Suggestions for other veggies you can use for veg pakora

• Cauliflower, cut into small florets. Broccoli would work too.
• Eggplant. Try and use slimmer eggplants, like Indian, Chinese or Japanese eggplants, and slice them thin.
• Bell peppers. Bell peppers make amazing pakoras. Use bell peppers of any color.
• Okra. Cut the okra into 1-inch pieces and keep the batter a bit thick so it clings to the okra.
• Carrots. Carrots are a great veggie to use in pakora. Cut into thin slices.
• Any leafy vegetable. Spinach is great in pakoras, as is kale or almost any leafy. Here's my methi pakora recipe, made with fenugreek leaves. If using a leafy, keep the batter a bit thicker, because you'll need to mix the veggies into the batter and then add clumps of it to the wok or fryer.
• Zucchini blossoms
• Asparagus. I've shared with you a recipe for a baked asparagus pakora before. If you decide to deep-fry, make sure you chop the asparagus into smaller pieces and, again, keep the batter thick so it doesn't just slide off the slick asparagus stems.
• Corn. I've shared with you a no-oil corn pakora recipe and you can use a similar batter to make fried pakoras.
• Tofu. Tofu makes awesome pakoras, which taste similar to paneer pakora. Cube extra firm or superfirm tofu, dip it in the batter, and fry.

How to make vegetable pakora

• Heat oil. A wok is preferable, but if you don't have it a cast iron skillet or frying pan will work just as well. Or, if you have a deep fryer, use that. Use a thermometer, if you have one, to heat the oil to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Try and keep the temperature between 350 degrees and 375 degrees at all times so the veggies cook along with the chickpea coating and the pakoras don't change color too quickly.
• Chop the vegetables. Slice veggies like potatoes and zucchini thinly, using a knife or a mandolin. You want them to cook quickly in the oil. Chop the onions and cabbage into long, thin strands. You can make them as long or short as you like, I like mine gracefully long because I love how they look once they are fried.

• Whisk batter ingredients together: Place all the ingredients except the vegetables in a bowl. If the chickpea flour seems lumpy, sift it into the bowl. Whisk all the ingredients to mix.

• Add the water: Slowly begin to trickle in the water, a quarter cup at a time. Whisk, and then add more. Doing this will ensure you end up with a smooth, not lumpy, batter. It's very hard to get the lumps out of the batter once you've added all the water, so doing this slowly is really important.

• Check the consistency of the batter. Dip a veggie in the batter--I used a potato as you can see in the picture below. The excess batter should easily drip off while leaving a nice, even coating over the potato. You don't want a very thick batter because you should be able to taste the veggie and not just the coating, but you don't want a batter so thin that it just slides off the vegetable. To make pakoras with leafy veggies, or with veggies that have a slick surface like okra and asparagus, make the batter thicker.

• Fry the pakoras. To fry the pakoras, dip the sliced potatoes and zucchini into the batter, one at a time, and carefully place in the hot oil in the wok. Fry until one side turns lightly golden, then flip over and cook the other side. Flip over once or twice more. You want a lovely, golden color on the pakora but you don't want them to brown. The pakoras will continue to take on a little more color after you've taken them out of the oil. To make cabbage or onion pakoras (I do this after I've finished making the potato and zucchini pakoras), place all of the chopped veggies into the remaining batter and mix. Scoop out chunks of the batter with the veggies and add them to the frying pan.

• Drain out any excess oil. When fried at the right temperature your pakoras will be perfectly crispy and not greasy, because they won't absorb much oil. Place the fried pakoras in a colander or plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess fat clinging to them.
• Serve hot. Pakoras are best served hot, but wait about 5-10 minutes before serving as the juices from the veggies can be hot and might surprise the eater when they bite into the pakora. If you need to reheat them, do so in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes. Don't let them brown. These pakoras remain crunchy hours after cooking, so you can just eat them at room temperature.

What to serve with pakora

• I don't need any gilding for this lily--I love to bite into the crunchy pakora by itself. However, you can serve it with a green chutney or sauce, such as those sold at Indian groceries (the one in the picture is Maggi masala chilli sauce and you can find it online). Pakora is also great with mint chutney or tamarind chutney, both shared in my Ragda Pattice recipe. You can even serve the pakoras to kids with tomato ketchup.

Storage instructions

• You can store leftover pakoras in the refrigerator for up to three days. Place in an airtight box lined with a paper towel as soon as they cool down and refrigerate. Reheat for 5-7 minutes in a preheated oven before serving. Don't let the pakoras brown.

Can I bake or air-fry the pakora?

You definitely can, but my goal here is to share with you a recipe for a perfect pakora as it is meant to be eaten, not a modified version that tastes fine. If you are looking for a baked pakora, check out this asparagus pakora recipe, where the pakoras are baked with very little oil. Or check out my no-oil corn pakora recipe.

To air-fry the pakoras, you will need a much thicker batter so it doesn't drip through the holes in the air fryer basket. If you want to air fry these pakoras, chop the veggies much finer and place them in a bowl. Add the batter ingredients and just enough water to moisten so the batter holds together when scooped up. Spray the air fryer basket with oil or cooking spray. Use a spoon to scoop the batter and place in the air fryer basket. Leave some space between each fritter for the air to circulate. Cook eight minutes on one side in a 350-degree oven, then flip and cook for eight more minutes.

Related recipes

• Punjabi Samosa
• Bread Pakora
• Vegan Corn Fritters
• Khasta Kachori
• Aloo Tikki