Aloo Pakora

I’ve been on a giant pakora-making binge lately... as always, a case of a minor task ballooning up into a whole *thing*.

It started off as just wanting to update a few posts - around a decade old each - with process photos.

Those would be my Chicken Pakoras, Paneer Pakora, and Mixed Vegetable Pakoras.

As I was making the grocery list for the mixture of different vegetables I’d need for those veggie pakoras, I figured I should toss on a few batches of our other favourite pakoras.

Figured I’d par cook and freeze them, as an easy evening snack.

So, I made a bunch of different crispy pakoras, for variety.

If I’m going to make them, may as well post them, right? May as well toss on a batch of my Green Chutney, while I’m at it...

... and that’s how I ended up with 3 pakora updates, a dipping sauce update, finally doing up my raita recipe... and 6 new pakora posts.

Whoops. Anyway...

Aloo Pakoras

So, here we are, with my potato pakora recipe! (Potato = Aloo, btw).

Whether you call them potato pakora, aloo pakora, aloo bajji, aloo bhajia, or even just potato fritters, this easy aloo pakora recipe is the perfect snack for any potato lover.

This deep fried pakora involves a soft potato interior, encased in a flavorful, crispy batter.

It’s a great combo of textures and flavours, pretty much an ideal comfort food.

The best thing?

These tasty potato snacks are a super easy recipe to make!

Let’s get to it!

Ingredients

If you do any Indian cooking, this recipe uses pretty basic ingredients. If you don’t, you may need to buy a spice or two!

A few notes:

Potatoes

I like to use Russet potatoes for this, as I find that they have the best texture for this use.

Red potatoes and Yukon Gold just don’t turn out the same way, IMHO.

Where it’s the main ingredient, I think it’s important to get a great texture. No sense going to the effort for “meh”, IMHO.

Sweet potato WOULD also work - like an Indian version of tempura!

Flours

This recipe uses both Chickpea Flour / Garbanzo Bean Flour, and White Rice Flour.

White rice flour should be available pretty much anywhere, and is generally found in the gluten free section.

The chickpea flour tends to be a LITTLE more difficult to find in mainstream grocery stores, but it can usually be found in any one that has a decent GF section.

You can also find it in Indian or South Asian stores, where it will be called gram flour. (So this is a gram flour batter).

Oil for Frying

You’ll be deep frying these pakoras, so you’re going to need a lot of oil - enough for at least 2-3" in your deep frying pan or appliance.

Use something that’s good for deep frying specifically, as those are the ones with a high smoke point, and are best suited for the high temperature you’ll be hitting.

Generally speaking, you’re looking at vegetable oil, peanut oil, or sunflower oil.

Spices, Etc

I use a fairly basic set of spices in this base recipe:

Ginger Garlic Paste
Cumin Seeds
Curry Powder
Carom Seeds
Coriander Powder

Like my other pakora recipes, though, sometimes I’ll add whatever else I’m feeling like at the time.

Sometimes that means Cumin Powder, a bit of Garam Masala, or even Fennel Seeds.

If I’m feeling like adding some heat, sometimes I’ll use a bit of Red Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper, sometimes I’ll finely chop some green chilies.

As long as you hit the right consistency range for the batter, you can flavor it however you like - potatoes are a nice, neutral base!

You’ll also need salt and baking powder.

Equipment

Aside from bowls and measuring implements, there are two main pieces of equipment that I recommend having.

Mandoline Slicer

This is the best way to ensure evenly cut potatoes, at the thickness you’re looking for.

I use a Mueller Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline Slicer, which I love.

If your mandoline isn’t adjustable, there’s a good chance that it’s fixed to too-thin of a setting for what you want here - definitely play around with it and see if it works, though!

Deep Fryer or Pan

I used to use a deep fryer when making pakoras, but then I moved to a house with a smaller kitchen, and couldn’t justify the counter space.

Now, I use a heavy bottomed pot and an IR Thermometer, and it works just fine!

How to Make Aloo Pakora

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Start heating your oil to 325 F – you’ll want at least 2-3″ of oil in your pot or deep fryer.

Note: When I’m using a heavy bottomed pot, I’ll usually heat it over medium heat until it gets to temperature, then adjust from there.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, ginger-garlic paste, spices, salt, and baking powder.

Add water to the dry ingredients, stir well to form a thick batter. Allow batter to sit for 5 minutes or so, to soften the bean flour.

Peel the potatoes, rinse well.

Slice the potatoes into thin slices - aim for ⅛" thick. (Thinner may disintegrate, thicker may not cook through).

Soak potato slices in cold water for a few minutes, then blot dry with paper towels.

One by one, dip potato slices in the pakora batter, allowing excess batter to drop off before carefully transferring to the hot oil.

If the batter is too thick, stir in a little water. You want it to be about pancake batter consistency.

Work in batches of a few pakoras per - you don’t want to overload the oil, as it will drop the oil temperature and result in greasy fritters.

Fry for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy

Use a metal slotted spoon to transfer fried pakoras to paper towel, to absorb the excess oil.

Allow the temperature of the oil to come back up to 325 between batches.

Serve hot, with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Leftovers

Leftover pakoras can be cooled to room temperature before being transferred to an airtight container and kept in the fridge.

Best reheated in an air fryer, but a toaster oven can also give good results.

More Gluten-Free Indian Recipes

Craving some curry, pakoras, and chutney? I’ve got some delicious Indian Recipes for you!

Butter Chicken
Chicken Pakora
Chicken Shahi Korma
Cilantro Chicken
Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Corn Pakora
Cucumber Raita
Gluten-Free Samosas
Gobi Pakora
Mango Lassi Popsicles
Mixed Vegetable Pakora
Mushroom Pakora
Onion Pakoda
Palak Pakoda
Paneer Pakora

... I even have a few diet friendly adaptations on my low carb blog, Low Carb Hoser:

Keto Butter Chicken
Low Carb Chicken Korma
Keto Chicken Biryani
Low Carb Shrimp Curry

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