Pakoras or chickpea flour fritters are a thing of joy. Be it bread pakora, mirchi bajji, moong dal bhajiye or onion pakoras. Vegan gluten free snack which is a a crowd favorite. However, the only vice of this street food is the high oil content in it. It is deep fried which is hardly healthy in any way. There is no issue in eating it once a while, but the thing with onion pakora is, ye dil maange more!
You want to eat pakode in every season. Whether its raining or cold, hot pakoras and tea is welcome even on a sunny afternoon. Here is a way to enjoy this yummy treat without worrying about these extra calories! Yes they are as crispy as the fried ones if you were wondering.
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can you air fry pakora?
We tried to make pakode in air-fryer many times until we cracked this perfect recipe. Earlier the batter would stick to the grill. Sometimes it felt a bit raw. At times it was a little soft. What is a pakora without the crunch, right? We finally had an idea, to use muffin liners instead of putting the batter on the basket grill on parchment paper. Scroll over the instructions below to make the perfect crispy onion pakoda and you will never be disappointed.
Equipment
- Air fryer
- oil spray
- perforated paper liners / muffin liners. You can cut a parchment paper as per your air fryer basket and make holes in that to allow the air to pass through or use the liners used for bamboo steamers.
Ingredients
- Onions
- Red lentil flour or chickpea flour (Besan)
- Rice flour
- Green chilli
- Turmeric powder
- Red chili powder
- Mint/coriander leaves
- Baking soda
- Salt as per taste
- Water to make thick batter
- Oil for frying
How to make onion pakora in air fryer ? (low oil)
It is possible to make onion pakoda in air fryer.Follow the below steps for the same.
- Slice the onion and add salt to it. Leave it aside for 30 minutes
2. Add the lentil flour to the mix. I have used red lentil flour here, you may use chickpea flour/besan.
3. Add remaining ingredients(except baking soda) with 2 tbsp. water,start mixing the ingredients
4. Add the chopped coriander/mint to the batter
5. Mix baking soda with 2tbsp water and add to the mix at the last
6. Line the air fryer basket with a baking sheet with holes/steamer sheet.
Scoop spoonfulls of mixture to fill the basket.Spray oil,brush oil before they start to cook.
7. In a preheated air fryer(10 minutes at 180C) ,air fry the pakoras on 180 deg C for 8 mins
6. Place them in the air fryer basket without the baking sheet,spray oil and cook further at 180C for 4 mins ,then turn over and cook again for 3-4 minutes or until cooked from all sides.Total cook of 16 minutes.
7. Serve air fryer pakoras hot with chutney.
What Indian dishes we can prepare in air fryer?
Air frying the traditional Indian recipes has opened up a new world of cooking for us altogether
Read the recipe on how to make pakoras in air fryer
Variations
You may add chopped potatoes, shredded cabbage to the recipe to make vegetable pakoras. Click here to make double fried sanna pakoda or Sindhi pakode in the traditional style. Dunk the air fried pakoras in kadhi to make yummy Punjabi dahi ki kadi. That's my go to recipe whenever I m bored of cooking or have a big bowl of yogurt at home.
You may also choose to cook them in muffin liners as shown below
- Variation Step 1 Line the muffin cups in an air fryer basket(pre heated) . Spray oil on each. Scoop a spoonful of mixture and add it to each muffin cup.
- Variation Step 2 Air fry the pakoras on 160 deg C for 12-14 mins , spraying oil at an interval of 7 mins 2 times.
- Variation Step 3 Remove them from the muffin liner and cook them directly.,Spry oil once . Cook for 8-10 minutes at 160C.
Storage
Air fried onion pakoda stays crisp until next day when stored in an air tight container.
Air fryer pakora recipe
Equipment
- parchment paper or muffin cups.
- oil spray
Ingredients
- 2½ cup onions sliced
- 1 teaspoon Salt as per taste
- 1 cup lentil flour red lentil flour or chickpea flour (besan)
- 1 tablespoon sooji semolina
- 1-2 green chillies as per taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric optional
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or as per taste
- 1 tbsp. coriander leaves or mint leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tbsp. Water to make thick batter
- 2 tbsp. Oil for oil spray
Instructions
- Slice the onions,add the salt,allow to sit for 30 minutes.
- Add the lentil flour to the mix.Add remaining ingredients with 2 tbsp. water,start mixing the ingredients
- Add the chopped coriander to the batter.Mix baking soda with water and add to the mix at the last
- Line the air fryer basket with a baking sheet with holes/steamer sheet.Scoop spoonfulls of mixture to fill the basket.Spray oil,brush oil before they start to cook.
- In a preheated air fryer(10 minutes at 180C) ,air fry the pakoras on 180 deg C for 8 mins
- Place them in the air fryer basket without the baking sheet,spray oil and cook further at 180C for 4 mins ,then turn over and cook again for 3-4 minutes or until cooked from all sides.Total cook of 16 minutes.
Variation - Using muffin liners for onion pakora recipe
- Line the muffin cups in an air-fryer basket. Spray oil on each muffin cup. Scoop a spoonful of mixture and add it to each muffin cup.
- Air fry the pakoras on 160 deg C for 15 mins , spraying oil in between once.
- Take them out of the muffin casings .Break the bigger pieces of pakora into 2 pieces if required.
- Cook them in the air fryer for further 7-8 minutes.
- Serve hot once they are golden brown from all sides.
Notes
FAQs
Yes, just air fry them for 2-3 mins at 160 deg C after preheating the air fryer.
Yes, here is a list of Indian recipes you can easily make in air fryer.
Silvie Gowans says
Brilliant.
bhavana bhatia says
Thank you so much Silvie.
Cheers!
Bhavana