Best Pakora Recipe Ever

CHICKEN PAKORA

Steps:

• Clean and wash chicken well and drain the water completely.
• Add chicken cubes in a bowl
• Add all the ingredients except flours and oil. Mix everything very well.
• Cover and set it aside for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat enough oil in a deep pan.
• Then, add gram flour (besan) and rice flour.
• Mix the both the flours well. If mixture is too dry to coat well, then add 1-2 tbsp of water only and mix.
• Once the heats up well, slide-in the chicken chunks and allow it fry undisturbed for a minute. Then, stir it one and fry on medium high flame until golden and crisp.
• Take them out onto an absorbent paper. Repeat the same for remaining chicken.
• Chicken Pakora is ready to serve. Sprinkle some chaat masala, some red chilli powder, lemon juice and serve.

PAKORA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/ gas 1/2. Make a paste by blitzing the chilli, ginger and tomato together, then set aside.
• Mix the gram flour with the spices. Add all the prepared vegetables and toss in the mix. Slowly add 150ml water until the batter coats the vegetables - they should be well coated, but not swimming in it.
• Add the tomato mixture and get your hands in there, mixing well until everything is incorporated. Add a little lemon juice and seasoning.
• Heat the oil to 180C. Take a handful of the mix and squeeze it into a loose little ball, to ensure the vegetables stick to each other when lowered in the oil. Use a spoon to carefully drop the ball into the oil.
• Fry for about 4 mins until golden and crispy, then taste to test for seasoning and consistency. You may also need to add a little water or gram our to the mixture at this point if your tester ball didn't hold together. Repeat, frying the remaining mixture in batches.
• Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven as you go. Serve immediately with chutney.

ONION PAKODA | ONION PAKORA

Steps:

• Slice onions moderately thin and add them to a mixing bowl.
• Add chilies, ginger, curry leaves, pudina and salt to the same mixing bowl.
• Nicely squeeze the onions with your fingers few times without mushing them up.
• Leave it aside for 5 minutes. This helps the onions to release some moisture.
• Then sprinkle besan, ajwain, cashews and more salt if needed.
• Mix everything well to coat the onions with the flour. The mixture will be fairly dry at this moment.
• Add water 2 tbsps each time and mix the flour to make a moist mass of dough.
• The dough must be tight yet very moist and not soggy like batter else they absorb lot of oil while frying.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a kadai until very hot.
• Be careful as it is too hot. Pour this to the dough.
• Immediately the oil will sizzle. Mix the dough with a spoon and not hand as the oil is too hot.
• Heat oil in the same kadai or fry pan for deep frying the pakoda.
• Check if the oil is hot enough in the kadai by sliding a tiny piece of dough first.
• It has to rise and not sink in the oil. Next it should not brown too quickly. This is the right temperature.
• When the oil is hot enough, regulate the flame to medium high.
• Take a small amount of dough and make small pakoda with your fingers and slide them gently in the hot oil.
• Do not add too many pakodas in the pan. They should have some space in the pan to swim around & fry well.
• While frying stir & if needed flip the onion pakodas occasionally for even frying.
• Fry them till they turn crisp & golden. Then transfer them with a ladle to an absorbent tissue placed in a plate or to a colander.
• Continue to make more onion pakoda in batches with the rest of the dough.
• Serve onion pakoda hot with a cup of tea or coffee. You can also serve them with Coriander Chutney, Mint Chutney or Green chutney.
• Or sprinkle some chaat masala or any ground seasoning of your choice.

PAKORA RECIPE | VEGETABLE PAKORA

Steps:

• Wash the veggies and cut to thin 2 inch long strips. Check the pictures in the post.
• Add them to a bowl along with ginger garlic, green chilies (or chilli flakes), salt, garam masala, mint or other herbs. Mix well & squeeze them gently to release moisture. Keep aside for 10 mins.
• Add the gram flour, rice flour (or corn starch) along with ajwain (optional). Mix well to a slightly sticky dough. If the dough is too dry, sprinkle a few tablespoons of water and mix. It must be of a sticky dough consistency and not batter consistency.
• Taste test and add more salt, garam masala or green chilies.
• Heat oil in a deep pan on a medium heat. Test by dropping a small portion of dough, it must sizzle and come up but not brown. This is the right temperature.
• Take small portions of dough and flatten with your fingers to 1½ inch size portions and gently slide to the hot oil. You won't shape it or drop it in lumps.
• Regulate the flame to medium. Do not disturb for a minute or 2 until they firm up a bit. Then stir them and fry until golden, crisp and aromatic.
• Remove the vegetable pakoras to a cooling rack or steel colander. To make the next batch, ensure the oil is hot enough but not smoking hot. Fry in batches until you finish all of the prepared dough.
• Serve vegetable pakora hot with a cup of masala tea or green chutney.
• To keep them crispy for longer, place them on a wired rack in a low oven setting. You can also reheat them in air fryer.

MIXED VEGETABLE PAKORAS (30 MINUTES!)

Steps:

• Add onion, cauliflower, and potato to a large mixing bowl and season with salt, cayenne, garam masala, curry powder, garlic, and minced cilantro. Toss and set aside.
• To a separate mixing bowl, add chickpea flour and water and stir until a pourable, pancake-like batter is achieved. Then pour over the vegetables and toss to coat. There should be plenty of batter to generously coat the vegetables. If not, mix together bit more batter and pour over the vegetables.
• If serving with chutney, prepare at this time by adding all ingredients to a food processor or small blender and blend until well combined, scraping down sides as needed. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more garlic for kick/zing, salt for saltiness, lime juice for acidity, pepper for heat, or maple syrup for sweetness. Transfer to a serving vessel and set aside.
• Heat 2 large skillets over medium high heat (see notes for baking instructions). Once hot, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and let the oil warm. Add the coated vegetables one at a time, grouping the onions together in small bunches so they cook together (see photo). Reduce heat to low and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. If cooking too quickly, reduce heat to medium / medium-low. Repeat.
• As the pakoras are cooked, placed on a paper-towel-lined serving plate and set in a 200-degree F (93 C) oven to keep warm. Repeat until all pakoras are cooked.
• Serve with chutney and rice (optional), and garnish with fresh cilantro (also optional). Best when fresh. Store leftovers in a well-covered container in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Reheat in a hot skillet or in a 400 degree F (204 C) oven until warmed through.

CRISPY VEGETABLE PAKORAS

Steps:

• Sift the chickpea flour into a medium bowl. Mix in the coriander, salt, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and garlic.
• Make a well in the center of the flower. Gradually pour the water into the well and mix to form a thick, smooth batter.
• Over medium high heat in a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Coat the cauliflower and onions in the batter and fry them in small batches until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels before serving.

CHICKEN PAKORA

Steps:

• Place the garlic, ginger, green chillies, lemon juice, garam masala, cumin seeds, chilli powder, dried fenugreek leaves into a pestle and mortar and blend to a rough paste.
• Place chicken in a bowl and add the paste, mix to marinade and leave for at least 20 minutes - the longer the better.
• Heat up the oil in a karahi or wok to a medium heat
• Into the marinated chicken sprinkle in the freshly chopped coriander and then sieve in the gram flour. Mix together using your hand.
• Add a small amount of water if required to ensure the chicken is coated in a thick batter.
• Test your oil is hot enough by dropping in a little batter into the oil. If it browns and rises immediately then it is ready. Very carefully place the pieces of chicken into the oil one at a time and fry until crisp and golden brown.
• Using a slotted spoon move the pakora around, be careful not to overcrowd the karahi.
• Once golden brown and crisp remove from the oil and set on some kitchen paper