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Home » Recipes » Indian

Vegetable Pakora

Published: Sep 29, 2022

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These Mixed Vegetable Pakora fritters are easy to make, and bursting with flavour. Customize them with your choice of veggies!

A plate of mixed veggie pakora.

Note: This recipe was first posted on my original blog, Celebration Generation, on November 2, 2012. It was transferred over to this blog - existing comments and all - on 9/29/2022

Remember when I went on a Pakora making binge, and promised to share the recipes I'd created?

Yeah. I kinda dropped the ball on that, having gotten overloaded with all sorts of other work to focus on... Anyway, I'm back on it now!

These crispy vegetable pakoras were my absolute favorite from that evening, a gluten-free mixed veggie pakora patty recipe.

Like many of my recipes, this works up quickly and easily, producing a highly addictive end product.

Expect a "pakora coma" after snarfing these babies.. which go great with my cilantro-mint chutney.

Enjoy!

Several Mixed veggie pakora, on a blue plate.

Ingredients

This vegetable pakora recipe uses really simple ingredients that should be easy to find at almost any large grocery store.

I do have some notes on the main ingredients, though:

Vegetables

In general, veggie pakora is a great way to use up leftover vegetables in your fridge - Root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, and sweet potatoes, cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

Basically anything that's tasty and kind of sturdy. (Ie: don't use tomatoes!).

For this mix veg pakoras recipe, I decided to specify amounts - I'd created this to have a great balance in flavors, color, and texture.

I use a mix of onions (usually about 1 medium onion), broccoli, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and finely chopped jalapenos.

I’ll usually run chopped jalapenos through my mini food processor first, then rough chopped onion next. I cut everything else by hand, so I tend to get lazy where can!

Want to try something different, or happen to have other veggies to use up?

Try using your favorite vegetables in place of some of the veggies I call for.

Chop up some bell pepper, green beans - or French beans... you can even use leafy greens (chopped, pre-cooked a bit, and well drained, ideally!).

The Flours

Lke all my pakora recipes - and traditional pakoras in general - this recipe uses a mix of Chickpea Flour / Garbanzo Bean Flour, and White Rice Flour to make the chickpea flour batter - it’s an inherently gluten free recipe*!

If you’re shopping in an Indian or South Asian grocery store, the bean flour is likely to be called besan flour, besan, or gram flour. They’re all the same thing - flour made from garbanzo beans!

* When dining in restaurants, always check with the restaurant to make sure that their pakoras are gluten free, if you need them to be. While it’s not tradtional, some do add wheat flour / all purpose flour to their batter.

Herbs and Spices

As written, this recipe is exactly how started making it, well over a decade ago. I don’t dare change the base recipe, as that tends to anger readers, LOL!

So, know that we’ve since started looking at this as a base recipe. When we make vegetable pakoras, we’ll do at least what’s listed:

Fresh cilantro / fresh coriander
Curry Powder
Ground Cumin

It’s a nice start, and really lets the mix of vegetables take center stage.

That said, there are a number of different ways - and a variety of spices you can use - to add some extra flavor to the batter ingredients.

Try adding 1-2+ Tablespoons of fresh Ginger Garlic Paste, or wear some gloves and use a box grater to shred some green chilies into the mix.

Some chopped fresh mint leaves are another great option, in terms of fresh, bright flavours.

In terms of dry spices...

Carom Seeds, Fennel Seeds, and Cumin Seeds add flavour AND texture.

Chaat Masala, Garam Masala, Ground Coriander, Tandoori Masala, and Turmeric Powder are all great ways to bring warmth and a depth of flavour to the mix.

Want a spicier pakora?

Add some Cayenne Pepper, Kashmiri Chili Powder, and/or Red Chilli Powder.

Oil for Frying

When it comes to deep frying, you want to use a oil with a fairly neutral flavour and a high smoke point.

Vegetable oil is my go-to for deep frying, but canola oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil are other great options.

Equipment

You’ll need a way to cook these - ideally deep frying.

If you have a deep fryer, great!

If not, a heavy bottomed pan will work as well - you’ll just need a way to keep track of the oil temperature - a built in functionality when it comes to actual fryers.

I like to use an IR Thermometer, personally... but candy thermometers and deep frying thermometers are other good options.


Several Mixed veggie pakora, on a blue plate.

How to Make Veggie Pakora

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, this is a walk through with easy step by step instructions, photos, and extra tips.

Start heating your vegetable oil to 375F – you’ll want at least 2-3″ of oil in your pot or deep fryer.

Note: I usually start it out at medium-high heat, then turn it down to medium as the oil comes close to the right temperature.

In a medium bowl, mix the pakora batter: combine flours, salt, spices, and baking powder.

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

A 4 part image showing the batter being mixed.

While the gram flour batter is resting, prepare your vegetables.

Chop everything into small pieces - the hot peppers should be seeded and finely minced, combine in a large bowl.

An 8 part image showing the various herbs and vegetables being chopped and mixed together.

Add the batter to the prepared vegetables, stirring until everything is evenly coated with the batter.

Use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to carefully scoop small spoonfuls of the batter (¼ cup or less) of batter into the hot oil.

A 2 part image showing the batter being added to the veggies and mixed together.

Fry for a few minutes on each side, until patties are golden brown.

Use a metal slotted spoon to transfer hot pakoras to paper towels, blot the excess oil off.

Note: I totally forgot to take process photos after this point, whoops!

Allow the oil temperature to come back to 375 between batches.

Serve hot, with your favourite chutney. I like cilantro mint chutney (green chutney), my husband prefers tamarind chutney.

I heat that tomato ketchup goes well with these vegetable fritters, I haven’t tried it!

Air Fryer Veggie Pakora

Deep frying not your thing? Using an air fryer, you can make these without as much oil!

To make air fryer pakora, scoop your batter onto parchment lined baking sheets, freeze until solid.

Spoonfuls of veggie pakora batter on a parchment lined baking sheet.

You can transfer frozen pakoras to a freezer bag for later use, or air fry them once frozen.

To air fry, preheat air fryer to 400 F

Spray air fryer basket with cooking spray, arrange frozen vegetable pakora pieces in the basket, leaving a bit of room between each. Spray with pan spray.

Air fry for 12 - 15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.


Several Mixed vegetable pakora, on a blue plate.

More Gluten-Free Indian Recipes

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

Aloo Pakora
Butter Chicken
Chicken Pakora
Chicken Shahi Korma
Cilantro Chicken
Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Corn Pakora
Cucumber Raita
Gluten-Free Samosas
Gobi Pakora
Mango Lassi Popsicles
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

Several Mixed vegetable pakora, on a blue plate.

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @BeyondFlourBlog - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and a comment!

Several Mixed vegetable pakora, on a blue plate.

Several Mixed vegetable pakora, on a blue plate.
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Mixed Vegetable Pakora

These Gluten-Free Mixed Vegetable Pakora fritters are easy to make, and bursting with flavour. Customize them with your choice of veggies and proportions thereof!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Resting time5 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 6 People
Calories: 150kcal
Author: admin

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil for deep frying
  • 1 ¼ cup garbanzo flour
  • ¼ cup white rice flour
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1.5 teaspoon hot curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup finely chopped broccoli
  • 1 cup peeled finely chopped yam or sweet potato
  • 1 cup finely chopped zucchini
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1-2 finely chopped jalapenos
  • ½ cup cilantro
  • Cilantro Mint Chutney

Instructions

  • Start heating your vegetable oil to 375F – you’ll want at least 2-3″ of oil in your pot or deep fryer.
  • In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, spices, and baking powder. Add water, stir well to form a thick batter. Allow batter to sit for 5 minutes or so, to soften the bean flour.
  • Mix in remaining ingredients, making sure that everything is evenly coated with the batter.
  • Use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to carefully scoop small amounts (¼ cup or less) of batter into the preheated oil.
  • Fry for a few minutes on each side, until patties are golden brown.
  • Use a slotted metal spoon to transfer cooked patties to paper towels.
  • Serve hot, with with cilantro-mint chutney.

Notes

Due to software limitations, the nutritional information does not include deep frying.  Expect that the oil will add some fat and calories to the total.

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 880mg | Potassium: 440mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 308IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg

Several Mixed veggie pakora, on a blue plate.

Related posts:

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« Paneer Pakora
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mel mccarthy

    September 20, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    These veggie pakoras look incredible, Marie. I can't believe that they're also egg-free & dairy-free. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Jennifer

    September 20, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    5 stars
    These were really good but we had to add a lot of additional flour to get them to bind together.

    I'm thinking maybe it's because we blended our own chickpea flour so it was a little more granular but we ended up using almost double the recommended amount and went with tapioca since it's such a fine grain. The largest piece of vegetable was a corn kernel.

    The flavor was fantastic and also used the mint chutney recipe from your page as well.

    Reply
    • admin

      September 20, 2021 at 3:26 pm

      Hi Jennifer,

      Any changes to flour in gluten-free recipes are likely to throw off the liquid needed, as different flours / grinds of flours will retain moisture at different rates. This recipe works well with commercially available chickpea flour.

      I wouldn't recommend tapioca in this recipe, for texture and moisture retention reasons.

      Reply
  3. Carly McNeill

    November 08, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    I only have Bob's Red Mill Baking Flour on hand. Will that work? It's a blend of: Sweet White Rice Flour, Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Whole Grain Sweet White Sorghum Flour, Tapioca Flour, Xanthan Gum.

    Reply
    • admin

      November 30, 2021 at 8:17 am

      Without knowing the ratios of ingredients, I can't be sure. It'll probably work out in general, but the flavour and texture may be very different.

      Reply
  4. Janelle

    May 17, 2022 at 10:58 pm

    Is there a way to cook this in an airfryer rather than oil?

    Reply
    • admin

      May 24, 2022 at 9:56 am

      I'd probably freeze the patties first.

      Reply

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Marie Porter


Author of the "Beyond Flour" series of gluten-free cookbooks, autistic polymath, and cat mom.

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