A fritter from the Indian subcontinent made of vegetables coated in seasoned gram-flour batter and deep-fried, popular as street food and a teatime snack.
Shatteringly crisp on the outside with a nutty gram-flour crunch, giving way to soft, savory vegetable inside. Ajwain and chili lend warmth and a faint herbal sharpness. Dunked in cool mint chutney, it is the perfect rainy-day bite.
Gram flour fries into an exceptionally crisp, golden shell because its proteins and starch set quickly in hot oil while shielding the vegetables, which steam soft inside. Frying at the right temperature drives off moisture for crunch without greasiness.
Variations
Onion pakora (kanda bhaji), aloo pakora, palak pakora, paneer pakora, mirchi bajji
On the Palate
Where Pakora sits in the Indian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 18 min
Slice onions thinly and chop or slice other vegetables like potato and spinach.
- 23 min
Whisk gram flour with turmeric, red chili, ajwain, and salt.
- 33 min
Add water gradually to make a thick, coating batter.
Watch outAdd the water bit by bit to a thick, clinging batter — it should coat the vegetables and hang on, not drip off; too thin and it won't crisp into a shell.
- 42 min
Fold the vegetables into the batter so they are evenly coated.
- 53 min
Heat oil in a deep pan to medium-high.
Watch outBring the oil to medium-high before frying — a drop of batter should sizzle and rise right away; too cool and the pakora soak up oil and turn greasy instead of crisp.
- 63 min
Drop spoonfuls or clusters of the battered vegetables into the hot oil.
- 78 min
Fry, turning, until deep golden and crisp on all sides.
Watch outFry, turning, until deep golden and crisp on every side — even colour means the coating's set hard and the veg inside has steamed soft.
- 82 min
Drain on paper and serve hot with mint or tamarind chutney.
