Chicken Pakora

5 from 2 votes

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 30 minutes!

Course Appetizer, Iftar, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword chicken pakora

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings Servings

Calories 439kcal

Author Mariam Sodawater

Ingredients

Chicken

500 g skinless boneless chicken thigh or breast, both works
¼ teaspoons baking powder

Pakora Batter

¾ cup gram flour
⅓ 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.

Video

Notes

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: You can find it in any Indian store.

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.

Nutrition