Pakora are Indian versions of a fried fritter. They are usually made with vegetables and dipped in a batter seasoned with different Indian spices. The best part is that you can pretty much use any type of vegetable when making pakoras and they will taste good!
One of my favorite pakoras are with Spinach and Onion. I like to use these two ingredients because the pakoras just have this amazing flavor when deep fried together. You have this slight crisp from the fried spinach and then a sort of caramelized onion flavor from the softened onions. It’s really a great combination.
What I also do is add a bit of shredded potato in my pakoras to give it more texture and heartiness. Plus that little bit of potato helps the pakoras stick together better when they are fried up. Not to forget, potatoes just make dishes taste better anyways, so why not add them to this recipe, right? Haha!
For my recipe, I use a mix of chickpea and corn flour in my batter so that the pakoras not only are soft in the middle and bind together, but they have a nice crispy exterior to give them a nice crunch when you bite into them. Check out the recipe and try them!
PAKORAS (Veggie Fritters with Spinach, Potato & Onions)
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of gram flour (Chickpea flour)
- ½ cup of corn flour
- 1 Tbsp of minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp of ginger paste
- 1 Tbsp of cumin seeds
- ½ tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 Tbsp of salt
- 1 Tbsp of cumin/coriander powder
- 1 tsp of cayenne pepper OR 2 crushed chili peppers
- ¼ cup of fresh chopped Italian parsley
- 1 Tbsp of garam masala (or Spice Mix provided in COOK class)
- 1 medium onion (diced small)
- 2 medium or 1 large potato (peeled, grated and extra water squeezed out of potatoes)
- 1 ½ cups of fresh or frozen chopped spinach (~10oz.) (thaw & squeeze liquid out of frozen spinach)
- 1 ½ cups of water
- Cooking Oil for frying (~6 cups)
Instructions:
- Heat oil on medium setting in large wok or pot.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, spices, potatoes, onions, spinach. (Make sure all liquid from the potato and spinach is removed as much as possible.)
- Mix all together with the water until you have a thick, chunky consistency.
- With a spoon, drop in about 1 regular tea spoons worth of dough into hot oil and allow to cook for about 5-7 minutes. (If the pakora floats to the top immediately, the oil is ready for cooking.)
- Continue to drop in about 7-9 pakora in each batch and allow to fry.
- Remove from hot oil and allow to drain on plate covered with paper-towel.
- Repeat steps 4 to 6 until all pakora are fried.
- Serve warm with Tomato Chutney, Mint Chutney or Tamarind Chutney.
Like I mentioned earlier, pakoras can be made with any vegetable, so you can add other veggies to this batter and make your own new pakora version!
Let me know what you think of this recipe! Comment below, tag me with your pakora pics on IG @cmspiceculture or catch me on FB at “Spice Culture Cooking.”
Enjoy!
