Enjoy succulent chicken bites fried in a crispy gram flour batter. These chicken pakora are subtly sweet and aromatic, and they're ready in just 25 minutes!
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Chicken pakora are a deep-fried chicken version of gram flour fritters. Boneless chicken pieces are rolled in a spiced gram flour batter to make these popular Indian appetizers. They are also spelled as chicken pakodas.
Why this is the best recipe?
Succulent juicy chicken Pakora can be tricky to achieve without marination, right? But not with this recipe. We are using baking soda to velvet the chicken, which ensures that you will have a juicy bite.
Fenugreek leaves and chopped onions give the batter a unique pakora flavor. The addition of rice flour to the batter, combined with the right consistency, ensures that the pakora are moist inside and crispy on the edges, just like street style pakoras.
What goes into this recipe?
Let's look at the ingredients to make crispy chicken pakora.
- Chicken: I used boneless chicken breast, but the thigh will work too.
- Baking soda: Mixing baking soda with chicken and leaving it for a few minutes helps to make it soft and juicy. If you wish to skip the baking soda, marinate the chicken for 2 hours and add 2 tablespoons of yogurt to the batter.
- Gram flour: Gram flour is made from Bengal gram and is also called besan. You sub this with chickpea flour too. You can find it in any Indian store.
- Rice flour: This flour helps to get crispy edges on the pakoras. You can substitute it with cornstarch or more gram flour, with some compromise on crispiness.
- Indian spices: I used a typical Indian spice blend of cumin, coriander, red chili flakes, turmeric, and salt. You can substitute it with basic Indian curry powder if needed.
- Dried fenugreek leaves: These leaves add a typical Indian flavor to the pakoras. They are the same herbs that we use in butter chicken and chicken karahi. If you don't have them, substitute them with curry leaves.
- Ginger, garlic, chili: I used freshly minced, but paste will work as well.
- Green chili slices: I used thick and large, less spicy chilies. These add a spicy flavor to each bite. Skip them if you can't handle spice or are making the pakoras for kids.
- Onions and lemon juice: I used red onion, but you can use white or yellow too. Adding lemon juice will add tanginess and enhance the flavor of the chicken pakoras.
- Oil: Use any neutral oil to fry.
How to make this recipe?
To make chicken pakora, follow these easy steps:
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add baking soda to it. Let it rest for 4 to 5 minutes, then thoroughly wash the chicken. Then let the excess water drain in the colander.
- In a bowl, combine the gram flour, rice flour, onion, lemon juice, and spices. Stir the ingredients until they are well combined.
- Add water( I used ¾ cup) gradually to the dry mixture, making sure not to add too much. The batter should not be too runny. Watch video
- Add chicken cubes to the pakora batter.
- Gently fold the chicken pieces into the pakora batter until evenly coated. Use your hands to ensure complete coverage, if needed.
- To fry chicken pakoras, heat oil in a wok or kadhai over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add a few chicken pakoras at a time and fry in batches for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the pakoras from the oil and drain them on paper towels.
- Sprinkle chat masala and serve immediately.
Expert tips
Batter:
I wanted to create a quick recipe, so I omitted to marinate it. If you could marinate for 2-4 hours, the chicken will absorb the flavors and give a more homogenized deep flavor.
A very runny batter will be difficult to fry, and a very thick batter will make thick, round pakoras that will not get crisp. We need flat, small pakoras that will get crispy on the edges easily.
Frying:
Use a spoon to pour batter into the wok. This will ensure that you add both batter and chicken to each pakora.
Fry in batches in moderately hot oil on medium heat. Let the chicken pakoras get golden brown and crispy.
Very hot oil can burn pakoras and leave the chicken undercooked. On the contrary, low heat can overcook the chicken and make it dry, resulting in rubbery pakoras.
Serving:
Serve chicken pakora as an appetizer before the main course. Or pair pakoras with chai at a tea party. These also make a great lunchbox snack for kids.
Serve hot pakora with your favorite tamarind green chutney or dipping sauce. Couple with masala chai for the perfect tea-time moment.
You can store the pakora batter in the fridge for 12 hours and fry as needed.
FAQS
Make sure the batter is not very dry. Do not fry pakora on low heat or do not overcook them.
If for any reason, your better is runny, add 1-2 tablespoons extra gram flour. For the exact consistency of the batter watch the video.
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📖 Recipe
Chicken Pakora
Ingredients
Chicken
- 500 g skinless boneless chicken, thigh or breast, both works
- ¼ teaspoons baking powder
Pakora Batter
- ¾ cup gram flour
- â…“ cup rice flour, sub with cornflour or more gram flour
- ¾ cup onions, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
- 1-1½ teaspoons red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, optional
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice , or vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon cilantro, fine chopped
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ tablespoons green chili paste
- 1-2 sliced green chilies , optional, for extra spicy taste
Other
- ¾ cup water
- oil, for frying
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add baking soda to it. Let it rest for 4 to 5 minutes, then thoroughly wash the chicken and drain excess water in the colander.
- In a bowl, combine all ingredients of pakora batter. Stir the ingredients until they are well combined.
- Add water gradually to the dry mixture, making sure not to add too much. The batter should not be too runny.
- Gently fold the chicken pieces into the pakora batter until evenly coated.
- Fry chicken pakoras, heat oil in a deep pot or kadhai over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add a few chicken pakoras at a time and fry for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the pakoras from the oil and drain them on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining chicken pakoras.
- Serve hot with your favorite chutney or dipping sauce.
Notes
- A very runny batter will be difficult to fry, and a very thick batter will make thick, round pakoras that will not get crisp. We need flat, small pakoras that will get crispy on the edges easily.
- Fry in batches in moderately hot oil on medium heat. Very hot oil can burn pakoras and leave the chicken undercooked. On the contrary, low heat can overcook the chicken and make it dry, resulting in rubbery pakoras.
- You can store batter in the fridge for 12 hours and fry as needed.
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