Way, way back when we really didn’t know how to cook, Brad took a 8 week Indian cooking course. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to our kitchen because he became an amazing cook. These gluten free vegetable pakoras are one of our favourite recipes.
The batter is soaked and fermented in advance. This allows the chickpea flour to fully hydrate and improves the flavour of the pakora.
Homemade Pakoras are Amazing
Anything that’s deep fried is hard to commit too (all that oil!!) However, pakoras don’t have to be deep fried. They can be shallow fried, air fried
or baked.
Here’s some of the reasons to love homemade pakoras:
- Traditional pakoras are gluten free, made with protein-packed chickpea flour.
- Pakoras are a delicious addition to an Indian meal, or as a lunch or snack.
- Make a large batch. They will last in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Pakoras are a delicious all on their own or serve them with apple chutney or plum sauce.
Gluten Free Vegetables Pakoras
This traditional recipe for vegetable pakoras has a fermented chickpea and yogurt batter. Lightly spiced and flavoured with tamarind, it is a deliciously crispy gluten free snack. It can be made with a mix of seasonal vegetables, so feel free to use your favourite combination.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Deep fried
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Batter
- 3 cups chickpea flour
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste (optional)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 1/2 tsp salt (non-iodized)
- 2 cups yogurt
Filling
- 5 cups of chopped and grated vegetables (see notes)
Instructions
- Mix all of the batter ingredients together until it is smooth. Allow to ferment in a glass container for 12 to 24 hours.
- The next day prepare the vegetable filling by grating and chopping the vegetables. The trick is to not have anything too large or it won’t cook during the deep frying.
- Mix in the vegetables into the batter, making sure that they are fully coated.
- Pakoras are traditionally deep fried, however see notes for other options. Heat the deep fry oil to 375 F.
- Scoop 1/2 cup of battered vegetables into the deep fry oil and fry until the vegetables are cooked and the batter is brown (about 5 min). Depending on the size of the pot, you may be able to fry multiple pakoras at once. Just be sure not to do too many at once or it might lower the temperature of the oil.
Notes
- Feel free to replace the yogurt with other cultured dairy like: milk kefir, buttermilk or whey.
- Deep frying always involves a surprising amount of oil. Alternatively, shallow fry pakora “pancakes” flipping halfway through to cook each side for 5 minutes.
- Feel free to use a mix of seasonal vegetables. My favourite are grated potato, onion and peas. But really most vegetables can be added to pakoras:
- grated potatoes, yams, carrots
- chopped cauliflower
- zucchini cut into long thin strips
- onion finely sliced into rings
- spinach, chard or kale
- shelled peas, green beans
- fresh panneer cheese sliced into cubes
Keywords: vegetarian, gluten free, grain free, summer, spring, winter, fall, picnic
These remind me of the pakoras from a street vendor I used to frequent. Thanks for the simple recipe.
★★★★★