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crispy Indian zucchini pakora-fritters

Vegetable Pakora Recipe (Vegetable Fritters)

Safiya
5 from 2 votes
Crispy Indian vegetable pakora/Bhajji makes a great side dish for Ramadan Iftar, a popular teatime snack in India, and great for parties. The recipe includes serving the pakora as a chaat or tempura.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Gujarati, Indian, Pakistani
Calories: 338
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

For Pakora Batter
  • 1 cup fine chickpea flour
  • ½ cup rice flour
  • 1 cup luke warm water
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
For Frying
  • 3 cups oil for frying , canola or vegetable oil
Vegetables for Pakora
  • 1 medium zucchini , washed, cleaned, and sliced into ⅛ inch circles
  • 1 medium yellow squash , washed, cleaned, and sliced into ⅛ inch circles
  • 8-10 baby spinach leaves , prewashed or wash couple times under running water, pat dry completely
  • 1 medium Yukon potato , peeled and thinly sliced, soak them in water until ready to cook
Optional Pakora Chaat Condiments
  • ¼ cup cilantro chutney
  • ⅛ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon chaat masala , optional
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup whisked plain yogurt , add tablespoon water to whisk it if it's too thick
  • 2-3 tablespoons tamarind-date chutney
Optional Tempura Condiment
  • Tempura Dipping Sauce , see recipe instructions in the blog

Method
 

  1. Combine chickpea flour, rice flour, turmeric, salt, and water in a large prep bowl. Whisk the batter until smooth and no lumps are left. Set the batter aside for 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, wash, and clean all the vegetables. Peel the potato and thinly slice it into circles. Transfer the sliced potato into a bowl with some water.
  3. Slice zucchini and yellow squash into ⅛ inch circles. Pat dry all the excess moisture on the spinach with paper or a kitchen towel.
  4. Heat a cast-iron skillet or a wok with cooking oil on medium-high heat. Takes about 2 minutes for the oil to start heating up on medium heat. Oil has to be medium hot to fry the pakora.
  5. Take 6 to 8 slices of zucchini, squash, and potato for the first batch of frying. Dip one slice of vegetable in the batter at a time and transfer them to hot oil.
  6. Fry the pakora until one side is slightly golden. Turn over the pakora with a fork or spider strainer. Fry the other side until golden and crispy. Fry longer on both sides if needed.
  7. Repeat the frying steps until all the potato, zucchini, and squash are fried. Fry spinach in the end.
  8. Serve it with cilantro chutney and sprinkle of chili, chaat masala and salt.
  9. To serve it as pakora chaat, place the pakora on a plate, top them off with whisked yogurt, tamarind-date chutney, and a sprinkle of red chili powder.
  10. See Tempura dipping sauce recipe to serve the pakora as a tempura.

Nutrition

Serving: 8gCalories: 338kcalCarbohydrates: 18.2gProtein: 4.2gFat: 28.3gSaturated Fat: 3.7gSodium: 166mgPotassium: 332mgFiber: 2.5gSugar: 2.4gCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
Disclaimer

Nutrition information is sourced from a third-party application and should be considered as approximate figures for reference purposes only.

Notes

  • Add a drop of batter to the hot oil. If the batter quickly comes up on top of the oil surface and cloudy bubbles form around the batter drop then the oil is ready for frying.
  • You can also check by sticking the end of a wooden spatula into the hot oil. If the oil is hot enough for frying, the bubble will form around the end of the wooden spatula. 

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