Onion Pakora

Onion Pakoda

This easy recipe will show you how to make Onion Pakora. Pakora is the name of a snack from India / Pakistan, which is often sold as street food. It has several other names like; bhaji, pakoda and pikora, amongst others, depending on where you are. 

A pakora is like a fried vegetable fritter and may use different vegetables, like onion (pyaaz pakora) or potato (aloo pakora).

Normally in India or Pakistan they use chickpea or gram flour (besan) to make the batter. As I did not have that available I have used a simple self-raising flour which also works fine.

This meal is often sold as a snack or appetizer, and in India or Pakistan it will very likely be served up with a nice cup of tea.

In many Indian restaurants in the West, you may find this on the menu as an onion bhaji, where it is often served as a starter to an Indian meal. Often it is served with mint raita or mango chutney.

New Tandoor Pakora

When I lived in the Netherlands my favourite local Indian restaurant was (and still is!!) the New Tandoor in Gouda. They serve the most fantastic lamb madras curry and the best naan bread I have ever tasted, thanks to their fantastic in house Tandoor clay oven.

I used to visit them as a treat to order a lamb madras takeaway with several peshwari naans. So wonderful, my mouth is salivating as I write.

From their menu, where they call this starter dish a Pakora (Onion Bhaji), it looks like they use onion and potato to create this dish. Either way, it is a winner and you will want to make it again.

Feel free to play around with the spices and other ingredients when you make this.  These were just as I like them, but they may well be better with some potato included. It is worth a try if you have time to experiment!

If you make this recipe, please let me know how you get on, in the comments section below!

How to prepare Onion Pakora 

Onion Pakora

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This post gives you a super easy recipe for onion pakora. Also known as onion bhaji or onion pakoda, it is tasty as a starter or side dish.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 onions (either type; red, white or brown)
• 100g self-raising flour (or chickpea flour if you have it)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• About 140ml of cold water
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground chilli powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• A green chilli, finely chopped incl. seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Sunflower oil (or vegetable oil) to fry with

Optional

• Chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

1. Finely slice the onions.
2. Make the batter by whisking the flour, baking powder, water, cumin, chilli powder, salt turmeric, green chilli and lemon juice ingredients together in a bowl until you have a thick batter. (Optional: add the chopped coriander as well at this point if you wish to add this ingredient).
3. Add the onions to the batter and mix well. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, heat the oil in a wok (or in a deep fryer). The oil should not be too hot but should be simmering when you are ready to cook. Drop a small amount of batter into the oil to see if it is ready - it should rise to the top.
5. Collect a spoonful of onion batter with two tablespoons and carefully place into the hot oil. Cook for about 2 minutes until the underside is browned and then turn over for another 2 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides.
6. Do this for all your onion batter mix, cooking in batches if need be. Make sure the pakoras do not touch each other in the pan to stop them from sticking to each other.
7. When finished, remove carefully with a slotted spoon, and place on kitchen paper towels to drain any excess oil.

Notes

The above quantities will give enough for about 12 pakoras.

Serve up with some raita or mint raita with some mango chutney.

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