Pakora and monsoon have a deeply rooted affiliation. The moment grey skies start pouring, the women of the house head to the kitchen to make one. In some households, someone is sent to the nearest bazaar to get them from a vendor.
I am from Karachi, and the rain was a rare delight. The instant it starts pouring, you can see the smiles and celebration on the streets. These rains usually come after long heat spells and are a sign of pleasant weather changes.
And what better way to celebrate than to have pakoras with tea as evening snacks? It's a heavenly combination – crispy pakoras, tea, and the splatter of rain in the background.
The Iftar table is another occasion where pakoras are a must in desi households. Iftars in desi households are considered incomplete without pakoras.
Over the years my love for pakoras has not diminished, in fact after moving to the UK it has just increased. Now, after trying various ways of creating Pakoras, I consider myself a Pro in making Pakoras (wink wink).
So, let’s explore the different ways pakoras can be created.
What Is A Pakora?
For my non-desi friends, let me introduce you to pakoras. Pakoras are deep-fried fritters made using a batter of gram flour (chickpea).
You usually prepare this batter with South Asian spices like cumin seeds, red chilli powder, coriander seeds, etc.
This pakora batter is so versatile that you can use it to dip anything from potatoes to vegetables to chicken as well. Here I am sharing some of the different ways I make pakoras.
Crispy Mix Vegetable Pakoras
These are the most basic pakoras, or should I say the epitome of pakoras. These fritters are made with vegetables, herbs, spices, and gram flour.
Ingredients
- 1 onion - thinly sliced
- 1 medium potato - cut into thin strips
- Fresh spinach (a handful) - roughly chopped
- Fresh coriander - chopped
- 4/5 green chillies - cut into circles
- 100 g gram flour
- 1 tsp cornflour (optional)
- 1 tsp Chilli flakes
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp sodium bicarbonate
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp yoghurt
- Salt as per taste
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix all the chopped vegetables in a bowl. Put in all the spices and mix well.
- Next, add the remaining ingredients and mix well with your hand. Do not add water.
- Let the batter sit for around 1 hour, the vegetables will release their flavours into the batter which makes the batter sticky and you won’t have to add much water.
- Heat a wok with oil for frying, make sure the oil is hot but not smoking hot.
- For testing, drop a little batter into the oil, if it floats the temp is just perfect.
- Use your hands (as I have always seen my mother) or you can even use a tablespoon and drop a bite-sized batter into the oil.
- Allow it to fry for 4-5 mins, until it holds its shape, then overturn it and cook on the other side.
- Take out the pakoras when they turn golden brown and crispy.
- Pakoras taste best when served hot.
- Enjoy with imli chutney or green chutney.
Tips To Make Your Vegetable Pakoras Crispier and Fluffier
One amazing tip that I have mastered over time is to add corn flour with gram flour to get that crispier result.
Adding egg adds to the crispiness of the pakoras whereas adding yoghurt makes your pakoras more fluffier from the inside.
Aloo/ Palak/ Onion Pakoras
You can make potato, spinach (palak), and onion (pyaaz) pakoras with this same batter.
Ingredients
- Gram Flour -1 cup
- All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
- Chaat masala - 2 tsp
- Red chilli flakes - 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
- Roasted cumin powder - 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Salt as per taste
Instructions
- Prepare the batter by adding all the ingredients in a large bowl, then add cold water to form a thick runny paste.
- The consistency of the paste should be thick enough to stick onto the potato/onion/palak slices.
- Heat oil in a wok to deep fry the pakoras.
- Now dip the potato/onion/palak slices in the batter and then transfer in the hot oil.
- Deep fry until they become golden brown.
- Your crispy pakoras are ready.
Mirchi Pakoras
Although you can prepare mirchi (Long Green Chilli) pakoras with the same batter as above, I always prefer this batter for my mirchi pakoras.
This batter enhances the taste of the green chillies and makes them taste divine.
You can either stuff the green chillies or make them plain. Here I am sharing a stuffed mirchi pakora recipe which is a must with daal chawal in my family.
Usually in Pakistan, we easily get the pakora mirch which is slightly bigger and light green in colour. These green chillies are less spicy than their smaller counterparts and hence edible. I use Jalapeno chilli peppers which are slightly on the spicier side.
Ingredients
- Gram flour - 1 cup
- Carom seeds (ajwain) - ½ tsp
- Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
- Red chilli powder - ½ tsp
- Garam masala powder - ¼ tsp
- Hing (asafoetida) - pinch (optional)
- Baking soda - ¼ tsp
- Salt as per taste
- Imli chutney
- Large/Medium sized green chillies - 10-15
Instructions
For the batter
- In a bowl, add all the ingredients and prepare a batter by adding water.
- Pour the water gradually to not make the batter too runny.
- Whisk the batter for 2 to 3 minutes to aerate the mixture. This step makes the pakoras more fluffier.
Prepping the green chillies
- Rinse the green chillies with cold water and pat dry them on a kitchen towel.
- Holding the stem, slit each green chilli on one side and take out the pith and seeds from it. Repeat for all the chillies.
- Take some imli (tamarind) chutney in a bowl, and with the help of a teaspoon fill all the green chillies with the paste. (It neutralises the spice level of the green chilli and adds a tangy taste to it.)
Frying crispy mirchi pakoras
- Add some oil to a wok and let it heat till medium-hot. Now dip the green chillies in the flour batter and place them directly in the hot oil.
- Let it turn golden brown from one side then flip the chilli and fry from the other side. Let it fry until it achieves a crispy golden brown colour.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala on them and serve hot with the imli chutney.
Chicken Chinese Pakoras
As the name Chinese suggests, these pakoras are quite different from our regular pakoras.
Although they are not authentically Chinese, since they have those vegetables that we put in our desi Chinese food, hence the name Chinese pakoras.
And I kid you not they taste divine. My friends especially request that I make these whenever I host an Iftar party.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour - ¾ cup
- Cornflour - ¼ cup
- Rice flour - 4 tbsp
- Crushed red chilli - ½ tsp
- Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
- Baking powder - ½ tsp
- White pepper powder - ½ tsp
- Chicken powder - ½ tsp
- Salt - as per taste
- Egg - 1
- Boiled and shredded chicken - 1 cup
- Capsicum cut into thin slices - 1 cup
- Carrot shredded - 1 cup
- Cabbage - ½ cup
- Sweet corn -½ cup (optional)
- Green onion thinly sliced - ½ cup
Instructions
- In a large bowl sieve all the dry flour so that they combine well.
- Now add all the spices.
- Gradually add water to the paste, but make sure the batter remains thick.
- Now add all the vegetables and chicken. Mix well and add water if required (the vegetables leave some water as well).
- Heat some oil in a wok, using a tbsp add the batter into the oil and fry on medium flame until golden and crispy. It takes around 5-6 mins for it to turn golden brown.
Moong Dal Pakoras
Now, I have saved the best pakoras for the end. They taste so amazing that you will forget the rest.
Although it is my mom's recipe initially I was hesitant to try out this recipe as you have to be a bit careful while frying these moong dal pakoras (they might break).
But, once I tried it all my hesitation just vanished as they turned out just as amazing as my mom’s. You do have to try it to believe it.
Ingredients
- Moong dal (washed) yellow - 1 cup
- Onions - 1 whole thinly sliced
- Tomatoes - 1 chopped
- Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
- Cumin powder - 1 tsp
- Green chillies - 3 chopped
- Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Salt - as per taste
- Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
- Cilantro leaves
- Sodium bicarbonate - ¼ tsp
Instructions
- Soak moong dal in water for 2 - 3 hours or overnight for best results.
- Once soaked, drain the water well.
- In a food processor, blend the moong dal. The mixture should remain a bit coarse and slightly grainy.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add all the ingredients. Mix with hands for everything to combine well. You can add a tbsp of gram flour if the mixture feels too wet or if it breaks while frying.
- Now heat oil in a wok over medium heat for frying.
- Now take a tbsp of the mixture and pat it with your fingers to form the shape of a pakora.
- Carefully, put the pakora into the hot oil and fry on one side until golden brown.
- Now flip with the help of a spoon and fry the other side
- The dal might splatter and the pakora might break if you try to overturn it before it is properly cooked from beneath.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the pakoras and place them in a sieve or parchment paper to drain out excess oil.
- Serve the moong dal pakoras with green chutney or imli chutney.
Wrap Up
My love for pakoras is something I have inherited from my mom. Be it any kind of pakoras on the table and you will see my hand automatically reach for the plate of pakoras on the table leaving behind all the culinary wonders.
I hope you enjoy my version of different types of pakoras as much as I enjoyed creating and then devouring them.
