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.
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
- whisk
- oil spray
- muffin liners
- air-fryer
Ingredients
- Onions
- Besan/chickpea flour
- Rice flour
- Green chilli
- Turmeric powder
- Red chili powder
- Mint leaves
- Baking soda
- Salt as per taste
- Ajwain / carom seeds
- Water to make thick batter
- Oil for frying
How to air fry pakoras?
- Slice the onions. Add the salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Add all the dry ingredients and mix them.
3. Add 2-3 tablespoon water so that you can make a thick paste like mixture. If it is too watery, you will not get the texture right.
4. Line the muffin cups in an airfryer basket. Spray oil on each muffin cup. Scoop a spoonful of mixture and add it to each muffin cup.
5. Air fry the pakoras on 160 deg C for 15 mins , spraying oil in between once.
6. Take them out of the muffin casings and cook them in the air-fryer for further 7-8 minutes. Serve hot once they are golden brown from all sides.
Read the recipe here
Air fryer pakoras recipe
Equipment
- whisk
- Air fryer
- muffin cups
- oil spray
Ingredients
- 2 cup onions sliced
- ¾ cup besan/chickpea flour
- ¼ cup rice flour for extra crispy pakoda
- 1-2 green chillies
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or as per taste
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves handful
- Pinch baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt as per taste
- 1 teaspoon ajwain carom seeds
- 2-3 tablespoon Water to make thick batter
- 2 tablespoon Oil
Instructions
- Slice the onions,add the salt,allow to sit for 30 minutes.
- Add all the dry ingredients,mix them.
- Add 2-3 tablespoon water so that you can make a thick paste like mixture. If it is too watery, you will not get the texture right.
- 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
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.
Storage
Air fried onion pakoda stays crisp until next day when stored in an air tight container.
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
Click here to see more recipe videos.
Please share your inputs..