CRISPY Mixed Vegetable Pakora (Indian Fritters)

Crispy mixed vegetable pakoras are vegetarian and gluten-free Indian fritters that are deep-fried and served with chutney. They’re addictive, and one of Pakistan and India’s most popular street food snack.  Today I’m giving you the best vegetable pakora recipe ever. Tips for making and keeping the vegetable pakoras super crispy included!

Love snacks? Try these Dorito Nachos and Masala Fries!

So, as promised in my Aloo Pakora post, I’m back with a scrumptious fritter recipe…one of my very favorite snacks for Iftar in Ramadan, or when it’s raining.

If you like crispy veggies coated in batter and then deep-fried, well you’ve come to the right place, my friend.

About this Recipe

All pakora recipes start with a chickpea/gram flour batter. It’s a super easy batter that’s made with some spices (less or more, your choice) and a little bit of water.

My favorite vegetables to use are spinach, potato, and onion.

Other Vegetable Options

• Carrots - thinly sliced or julienned
• Bell pepper - chopped into small cubes
• Cauliflower - grated or chopped into small pieces
• Cabbage - finely sliced
• Corn
• Tomatoes - remove seeds and chop finely. However, tomatoes are watery so the fritters might not turn out so crispy.

Why this Recipe Works

Pakoras are addicting because they are savoury, deep fried and CRISPY. If they turn out soggy, they’re just not as good. Here are reasons why this recipe is SO good:

• Family Favorite Recipe: This recipe is super special to me because it's passed down to me by mother. They're famous in our friends and family, and everybody can't get enough of them. She uses a few simple tricks to make them so delicious and crispy!
• Use a small quantity of water: A big mistake people usually make with vegetable pakoras is to use a lot of water to make a thin batter. When the salt in the batter draws out the moisture from the veggies, it becomes even more thin. This results in not soft pakoras and not crispy ones. If you go through my Aloo Pakora recipe, I ask you to make a more runny batter because we’re only using thinly slice potatoes in that recipe, but here I urge you to use less water.
• Cooling Rack: Instead of placing the fried pakoras on a paper-lined plate, I use a cooling rack to place my pakoras on. This ensures no steam gathers under the pakoras (while they’re resting) to make them soggy.
• Type of Vegetables: All three vegetables in this recipe, potato, onion, and spinach become super crispy when fried.

If you follow all these tips, your pakora will turn out very crispy. You won’t be able to stop eating them!!

Ingredients You'll Need

• Gram flour: Chickpea flour or besan is made from dry, ground chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). It has more nutritional value than all-purpose flour and is gluten-free. It's easily available in bigger supermarkets nowadays, but if you can't find it try the nearest Indian grocery store near you. If you would like to try making chickpea flour at home, this video has a helpful tutorial for you.
• Spices: you'll need salt, red chilli powder, ground coriander, and chaat masala. Chaat masala is an Indian spice blend which is tangy and a little spicy and used for many recipes in the subcontinent such as Fuit Chaat and Aloo Chaat.
• Water: The quantity of water matters a lot here for achieving a crispy batter. Vegetables have a lot of water content and moisture, so we need very little water for the batter here. The pakora batter needs to be thick. The quantity of water you'll need also depends on the brand of your besan and the climate.
• Potatoes: I use grated potates here, but you can also use thinly chopped potatoes. Potatoes become super crispy when fried and are often used in Indian fritters.
• Spinach: Use fresh spinach that has been thinly chopped.
• Onions: Again often a key ingredient for fritters and for good reason. It's a sweet, savory vegetable that becomes crunchy when fried.
• Green chillies: thai green chillies or jalapenos are best for this recipe.

How to Make It

Prepare the Batter & Deep Fry

1. Mix the chickpea flour and spices together in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Start by adding 3-4 tablespoons of water, and mix. The batter will still be very thick and on the dry side.
3. Now add in the vegetables and mix well.
4. If you feel the batter is still very dry, loosen it a bit by adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time. The batter will be very thick, but not dry at all, and will cling to the surface of the chopped vegetables.
5. Using your hands or two tablespoons (watch the video for this method), scoop up about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter and gently drop it into medium hot oil for 3-4 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
6. Remove from the pot, and place on a cooling rack. Continue with the process until all the pakoras are ready.

Success Tips

• Make a Thick Batter: This doesn’t have to be runny at all unlike the Aloo Pakora batter. Why? Because in order to make crispy vegetable pakoras we need just enough moisture in the batter. If there’s excess water, the pakoras won’t turn out as crispy.
• Oil Temperature: You need to ensure that the oil temperature is correct. It shouldn’t be too hot, or else the pakoras will turn too dark and not cook through.
• How to Check if the Oil is Hot Enough: To check the oil temperature, drop in a little bit of the besan batter. If it floats up immediately and sizzles the oil is too hot. The oil should be medium high.
• How to form the Pakoras: Use a tablespoon to drop in the batter or scoop up a little bit of batter with your hands and gently drop it in the oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
• Don't overcrowd the pot: Fry only a few pakoras at a time so as to avoid overcrowding and uneven cooking.
• Don't drain on kitchen paper: Instead use a cooling rack to place the pakoras on, to ensure that the crispiness remains.

Troubleshooting

Too greasy: This means the oil wasn't hot enough when the batter was dropped in. The oil needs to be at a medium-high temperature.

Raw from the inside: This means the oil was too hot, even though the pakoras are golden on the outside. This means the fritters didn't have enough time to cook through.

Dipping Sauces for Serving

• Green chutney: This is a great option and so easy to make as well. It's flavors are bright, fresh and tangy which go perfectly with the pakoras. Find the recipe here: green chutney.
• Garlic yogurt sauce: This is my personal favorite to make with these pakora, and it's so addictive you won't be able to stop snacking on it! You'll need a 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1-2 garlic cloves (minced), thinly sliced green chilli, and salt to taste. Just mix all the ingredients together, and it turns out amazing!
• Imli Chutney (Tamarind Sauce): Another popular option, and so very delicious and perfect for Ramadan and cozy Iftars. Here's the recipe: Imli Chutney.

Recipe FAQs

More Delicious Pakistani Snacks

• Chana Chaat
• Aloo Chaat
• Chicken Seekh Kabab
• Aloo Tikki
• Chicken Cheese Balls
• Baked Spinach and Cheese Samosa
• Chocolate Samosa
• Aloo Pakora

Note: This recipe was originally published on Sep 18, 2019, and has been updated for new pictures, a recipe video tutorial, and step-by-step pictures!