Pakoras or chickpea flour fritters are a thing of joy. Be it bread pakora, mirchi bajji, moong dal bhajiye or onion pakodas. 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 healthy onion bhaji without worrying about these extra calories! As they are air fried, these are are slimming onion bhajis (when compared with deep fried ones) . Yes they are as crispy as the fried ones if you were wondering. Morever these are plant based , hence this is a vegan onion bhajis recipe
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Can you air fry pakora?
Everyone loves pakoras, an Indian snack. These crunchy pakorasnare made with lots of veg, spices and chickpea flour. If you’re looking for the perfect pakora ’re in luck. There's lots of different pakora recipes you could try. Here are some tips on how to make the best pakoras.
To get that perfect crispy pakora in the air fryer, you gotta get the batter right. The batter should be thick, not watery. In a bowl, combine chickpea or red lentil flour, onion, spices, and a pinch of baking soda to make the batter.
For mix pakoras, you can use a mix of veggies. Pakoras are a great way to use up your leftover veg. Add some paneer or cheese to make it creamy and tasty. Use these tips and you can make the perfect pakoras - crunchy, crispy, and full of flavor.
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 ?
It is possible to make onion pakoda in air fryer.Follow the below steps for the same. These are red onion bhaji as I have used red onion, you may use white onions as well
- 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. air fryer recipes are not just healthier they cook faster too. Deep frying ones can be eaten once a while b
Variations for onion pakora in air fryer (semi cooked in water).
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.
I have also tried to make these by cooking the pakoda in a pot of water first and then airfrying them. This way they turned out more soft.
- Mix onion and all ingredients(including baking soda), do not add any water as water will be released by onions
2. Heat a pot of water, once boiling, add big spoonful of pakora batter
3. let it cook for 2-3 minutes,slowly take them out of the bowl
4. Allow these the semi cooked onion pakora to cook down on a tissue
5. Once they are at room temperature, brush them oil, preheat airfryer at 170C/340F,
6. Cook for 18-20 minutes, brush oil once in between
7. Serve warm with ketchup
Storage
Air fried onion pakoda stays crisp until next day when stored in an air tight container.
FAQs
Yes, I like heating pakora in air fryer. 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.
Baked onion bhaji is similar to onion pakoda in air fryer. It gives much better results than the oven.
Yes you can preheat the airfryer and cook the frozen onion bhaji at 180C/355F for 7-8 minutes to get crispy onion bhaji.
It all depends if you deep fry them or air fry them. air fried onion bhajis have almost 60 % lesser onion bhaji calories compared to the deep fried.
Related links
Air fryer pakora recipe | air fryer onion pakoda 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 /gram flour/ 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
For air fryer onion bhajis
- 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 - Semi cooked in water
- Mix onion and all ingredients(including baking soda), do not add any water as water will be released by onions
- Heat a pot of water, once boiling, add big spoonful of pakora batter,let it cook for 2-3 minutes,slowly take them out of the bowl
- Allow these the semi cooked onion pakora to cook down on a tissue
- Once they are at room temperature, brush them oil, preheat airfryer at 170C/340F,
- Serve hot once they are golden brown from all sides.
Notes
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
Silvie Gowans says
Brilliant.
bhavana bhatia says
Thank you so much Silvie.
Cheers!
Bhavana