Vegetable Pakoras, Crispy Pakistani vegetable fritters

Introduction

Vegetable pakoras are the perfect afternoon snack that you can whip up on no notice and on a small budget. Furthermore, you can add any vegetables you have knocking about, but my personal favourites are onion, potato and spinach.

As a child, whenever we had anyone visit our house, these crispy pakoras were always the thing my mum rustled up for our guests. So this combination of onion, potato and spinach are a childhood favourite for me, deeply ingrained in fun family get togethers. These deep fried treats go down well with a cup of tea, making pakoras is a popular choice for most South Asian households for evening snacks or also tea-time gatherings. There really is nothing quite else like the smell of pakoras frying.

Important tips in this Vegetable Pakora Recipe

The key to a crispy pakora is make sure the oil is extremely hot before frying the batter. If the oil is not hot enough, the batter will as a result absorb a lot of oil whilst frying and will become very stodgy and greasy rather than light and crispy. Once you add the pakoras to the wok to be fried, turn the heat down slightly at this point. This allows the pakoras to cook through fully and not just on the outside. You will need to flip these South Asian snacks over to cook on the other side too.

The bicarbonate of soda being added just before being friend helps with the crispiness of the pakoras. It’s therefore important not to add the bicarbonate too early into the batter, otherwise the pakoras absorb too much oil.

Letting the pakoras sit on a paper towel to drain off just before serving is an important step. It just allows any excess oil to drain off before you serve and eat them.

A hot cup of tea and a plate full of pakoras was very much cherished in my house growing up. My children now thoroughly enjoy this tradition, minus the tea for now! You have to serve pakoras with a chutney, have a look in my try my Chutney section for ideas. However my top two chutney suggestions would always be either the spicy tomato chutney,or the mint chutney as they compliments this easy vegetable pakora recipe beautifully.

Ramadan starter

Pakoras are always top of the list of things to make in Ramadan because they are so quick and easy to make and they can be also very cheap to make too. This pakora recipe is really the ultimate easy pakora recipe to make when tired and hungry!

These Pakistani fritters are a great quick and easy starter to whip up for Ramadan. For most people, some deep fried treats are a must every night. If that’s you, don’t miss these pakoras or my spring rolls and tuna patties off the list of things to make this Ramadan.

See my video on Instagram or TikTok to see how to make this dish!

Ingredients for Vegetable Pakoras

Time: 20 minutes

Feeds 6 people

• 150 grams of gram flour, sieved
• 2 green chillies (to taste)
• Handful of freshly chopped coriander
• 1 heaped teaspoon of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 heaped teaspoon of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• Handful of freshly chopped spinach – 40 grams approximately
• 1 tablespoon of kasoori dried methi
• 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, coarsely grinded with mortar and pestle
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1.5 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground tumeric
• 3/4 teaspoon of red chilli powder
• 1 finely chopped potato
• 1 onion finely sliced
• 150ml of water, may need, add small splashes
• 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Method for Vegetable Pakoras

1. Add 1 litre of vegetable oil to a wok, heat until very hot.
2. In a bowl, add the sieved gram flour, garlic, ginger, chillies, salt, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric and red chilli powder, fresh coriander , kasoori methi and spinach and mix. It is important sieve the gram flour as you don’t want lumpy batter.

3) Then add the onions and mix, then add the potatoes and mix. The potato must be finely cut to ensure that it cooks quickly when the pakoras are deep fried in the wok.

4) Then add the water to the mixture, to make a sticky batter. You may need more water if it looks too dry, add small splashes at a time and mix. The batter should not be too runny, it should stick to your fingers. If you do add too much water, balance out by adding more gram flour. You should taste the batter to check the salt and spice consistency is to your taste.

5) Check the oil in the wok is very hot before you start to fry the pakoras. Just before frying the pakoras, add the bicarbonate of soda to the batter, then start to fry immediately.

6) Use a spoon to add in a generous tablespoon amount of the batter and add to the oil. Turn the heat down to medium, as you need the potatoes to cook fully. Cook the pakoras for around 3-4 minutes, then flip the over to fry the other side for another 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to drain the oil from the pakoras before letting the pakoras drain off further on a plate.

Everyone loves pakoras with a cup of doodh patti tea and some mint chutney. Enjoy!