How to Make Crispy Vegetable Pakoras (Fritters)

Vegetable pakoras are a popular traditional Indian and Pakistani appetizer. They are usually served as an afternoon or tea time snack, small gatherings, or at iftaars during Ramadan in the Muslim household.

So I’ll be honest. Growing up, I wasn’t a huge fan of pakoras because I often found them to be too doughy. Well that all changed when I learned the secret to making crispy, delicious pakoras. Now I can’t stop making them! If I have any leftover vegetables from over the week, I just toss everything together and make some pakoras, and they disappear in minutes!

How to Make Crispy Pakoras

Tips and Tricks:

1. While onions are the most popular pakoras, many other variations exist which include vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, etc. Feel free to play around with the recipe by incorporating some of your favorite vegetables!
2. The trick to making crispy pakoras is to not add much water. Like at all. The vegetables release their own moisture and often times, that’s sufficient. Can you believe it?!
3. This recipe uses carom (ajwain) seeds which is what’s traditionally used in pakoras. This is a key ingredient which really brings out that unique pakora flavor, so don’t skip this!
4. Pakoras are usually served with a side of some chutney (sauce). I serve these with a side of one of my favorites, the Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce (Chutney).

To make crispy veggie pakoras, you’ll basically just mix all the ingredients together and deep fry in batches (full recipe below). Start by chopping up the vegetables roughly the same thickness to ensure even cooking. Toss mixture in a large bowl and let it sit for a bit to allow the vegetables to release moisture. Then, add in all the spices.

…And the gram flour and corn starch (and a splash of water, only if needed).

Gently knead everything together until a stiff mixture forms.

Once the dough forms, you’ll make small clumps with your hands and fry them in hot oil until they turn golden, brown.

And there you have it! A batch of some mouthwatering crispy, pakoras!

Veggie Pakoras (Fritters)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 green pepper, cut into thin, 1-2 inch length strips
• 1 medium onion, cut into thin, 1-2 inch length strips
• 1 cup potatoes, cut into thin, 1 inch length strips
• 1 jalapeño or 2-3 green chillies, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 2 tbspn chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 tsp crushed or grated ginger
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp carom (ajwain) seeds
• 1 tsp red chili powder, or to taste (optional)
• 1 cup gram flour (besan)
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• Oil for deep frying

Instructions:

1. Toss all the chopped vegetables and ginger in a large bowl and squeeze them gently while mixing to release water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to allow them to release additional water.
2. Add in the spices, gram flour, and corn starch and gently knead everything together. If the mixture is still dry, add a splash of water with your fingers and continue mixing until a stiff mixture forms. If there’s not enough coating (see picture above), add more gram flour and corn starch accordingly keeping the same 2:1 ratio.
3. Add oil in a deep pan or wok, filling up about 1/3 of the vessel or just enough for deep frying. Heat the oil on medium high heat.
4. Once the oil is hot enough, gently drop small formed clumps of the dough into the oil without crowding the pan. The clumps should rise up within 5 seconds instead of sinking.
5. Fry for about a minute or two. Then, stir and fry for an additional minute or so, or until the pakoras turn golden brown.
6. Remove the pakoras from the pan using a skimmer spatula draining excess oil and transfer onto a paper towel placed over large serving dish.
7. Fry the remaining batches.
8. Serve immediately with some chutney on the side.