Vegetable pakoras

Name: Vegetable pakoras
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 2 onions; 100 g fresh spinach; 1 potato; 150 g chickpea flour (besan); 2 tbsp rice flour; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1/2 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp chili powder; 1 green chili; 1 tsp salt; Oil for deep-frying

Local name: पकौड़ा (pakora)

Also written: pakodas · bhajis

Indian fritters of onion, spinach and potato in a spiced chickpea-flour batter, crisp and naturally gluten-free.

Published on 17 October 2026

VeganGluten-free#fritters#chickpea flour#onion#spinach#street food

Photo: Babu iyer , CC BY-SA 4.0

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 40 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Slice the onions thinly, shred the spinach and grate the potato. Mix them with the salt and leave for 10 minutes.
Add the chickpea flour, rice flour, cumin, turmeric, chili powder and chopped green chili. Mix by hand, squeezing the vegetables.
Add water a spoonful at a time, just enough to make a thick batter that coats the vegetables.
Heat the oil to 175 °C. Drop in small loose spoonfuls of the mixture without pressing them.
Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until deep golden. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with a mint chutney.

In India, pakoras go with tea on monsoon days, when the rain is falling and you want something hot and crunchy.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 231 kcal
Protein: 11.2 g
Fat: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 40.4 g
Fibre: 7 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why are my pakoras greasy?

The oil was not hot enough. Below 170 °C the batter soaks up oil instead of searing. Test with a drop of batter: it should rise at once, sizzling.

Does the batter need much water?

Very little. The salt draws the water out of the onion and spinach within ten minutes; then add water a spoonful at a time, just enough for the batter to coat the vegetables without running.

Why the rice flour?

Rice flour makes the crust crisper and keeps it crunchy longer once the fritters leave the oil.

Indian vegetarian cooking, where to begin
Learn the north-south divide, the tadka technique and the spices worth buying first so you can cook Indian food without meat.
The chickpea, from one kitchen to the next
The chickpea’s four states — raw ground, cooked whole, puréed, milled to flour — what each one makes possible, and why a tin cannot stand in for them.
Vegetarian and gluten free, from maize to teff
The kitchens that never needed wheat, from nixtamalised maize to teff and cassava, and the places gluten hides where nobody thinks to look.

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