These zucchini blossom pakoras are light and airy and a perfect use for that armload of zucchini flowers that you will inevitably be invaded with in your summer garden.
These zucchini flower pakoras were a brainwave that has since brought us nothing but great joy and perfect eats.
Faced with so many lovely flowers from the four zucchini plants in my vegetable garden this week, I pondered what to do with them.
Using a pakora batter to fry them up seemed like a great way to go.
I love anything deep-fried, but these pakoras were a joyful surprise. They cooked up light, fluffy and simply delicious-- a perfect teatime snack for a Sunday afternoon.
I served these with a coconut chutney.
Related recipes
Zucchini Blossom Pakora
These Indian-style zucchini flower fritters are light and airy and a perfect use for that armload of zucchini flowers that you will inevitably be invaded with in your summer garden.
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Review Recipe
Servings: 10 pakoras
Calories: 37kcal
Ingredients
- 10 zucchini blossoms
- ¾ cup besan (chickpea flower)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon ajwain seeds
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Coarsely powder the cumin and ajwain seds.
- Mix all ingredients except the flowers in a bowl. Add just enough water to make a thick paste.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a skillet to between 350 and 375 degrees.
- Dip each zucchini flower in the batter to coat evenly, then drop in the hot oil. You can deep-fry several at a time, but make sure you don't crowd the skillet.
- Fry on each side until golden brown and puffy.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 37kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 86IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
Follow Holy Cow Vegan on Instagram
Nonnie
This looks delightful! I'm hoping to use this in the near future. I do have a question, though: I don't really like deep frying, not for health reasons, but for the fact that it's just such a pain and takes so much oil! Do you think this would work all right baked or in an air fryer, and what would you recommend if so? Thanks!
Vaishali
Manasi, they taste really divine-- they don't have a specific taste, but get really light when fried in the batter. The flower petals are so thin, you don't discern a texture. And yes, I do remove the stalks. To be honest, I was a little wary before I made them the first time, but once I did I couldn't stop.
Manasi
Ah I was hoping I'd see this on an Indian food blog! Gorgeous! I saw these in Chopped - Food network and saw them fried (tempura batter) and wondered what they taste like, I mean the flower part, does it have a texture or taste we can relate to? Do u remove the stalks?
Soma
So true Vaishali! So glad that you wrote about this. for some reason we have a very "strange" but small circle of friends.. the kind they are so different in their won ways that we cannot even have them over all together! sometimes we get pitiful looks from some of our "normal" friends for getting associated with the strange group:-( isn't that a pity? well we are happy & so are our strange friends, just happy to hang around & not talk if we did not want to thru the entire evening.
in Bengal it is very common to fry the squash flowers in besan batter, with may be little kalonji in the batter. we would wait for these when we were kids:-)
Vaishali
Bharti, Kohinoor certainly was special. And I love simple and uncomplicated moments and people too. What I mean by people who are not normal is essentially people who don't follow "the rules" that rule our lives most of the time. It must be extraordinarily freeing to live as one pleases, but it's not something most of us-- me included--dare to do. Usually we just accept what we learn is the way to do things.
Pavani, Hope you try them!
Sharmila, Priya, Parita, Curry: Thanks!
Carribeanvegan: You can use the batter to coat onions, potatoes sliced thinly, green peppers, even eggplant or zucchini.
And I know what you mean by not being normal scares people-- which is why freeing oneself of what people think is so liberating. Truth be told, I'm not brave enough, but I admire it in those who can do it.
caribbeanvegan
I never knew u could eat these. If one doesnt have access to these flowers what can this batter be used to coat?
Yes normal is boring but anything not normal to other scares them so it always comes over and negative.
Curry Leaf
I did not knew anything you could do with zucchini flowers.Mouthwatering and perfect tea time treat
Parita
Wow this is unsual, never knew we could eat zucchini flowers, sounds interesting!
Priya Narasimhan
nice recipe and nice write up..But I like being normal. 🙂
Sharmila
I like the line where you say we deserve it. How true Vaishali! Far too many people all over the world bend over backwards everyday to please others ... and sometimes not too happily too. How I wish everybody could be as they want to.
We do fry pumpkin flowers the way you did ... so am eyeing those bhujias with a lot of ... sigh ... envy. 🙂
Pavani
I didnt know Zucchini flowers can be made into anything. My squash flowers are having untimely death too, may be I should make these fried goodies.
Bharti
I like the sound of your friend Kohinoor. I like quiet people who know who they are. I guess I like being normal- but normal isn't the same for everyone, whats normal for me will be very strange for someone else. I also like the thought of normal days- how to make it special, or extraordinary or how to find joy in simple things is up to us. Perhaps the point of view needs to be extraordinary?
The flower pakodas sound so exotic. I love the first picture.