Aloo Pakora Recipe (Indian Potato Fritters)

Aloo pakora are soft melt-in-the-mouth fried potato fritters coated in a delicious, golden, crispy batter. It is also known as potato bajji and has always been one of my favorite tea-time snacks. Make this awesome vegan potato snack in less than 30 minutes.

About Aloo Pakora Recipe

Aloo pakora is a popular street food snack served not only in Mumbai but in other parts of India as well. There was a popular vendor who made the tastiest pakoras near my office.

My colleagues and I would often visit her during our lunch breaks to buy hot mouthwatering pakoras sandwiched in Pav (Indian buns), drizzled with green chutney, tamarind chutney, and garlic red chili chutney. Yum!

Aloo Pakoda are usually eaten during winters and monsoons. They make for a lovely tea-time snack to enjoy with a cup of Masala Chai, shared with family and friends.

The batter for these fritters are made with besan which is flour made from husked chana dal or black chickpeas. Besan is also known as gram flour.

In India, we make most of our fritters with besan. If you do not have besan, than use chickpea flour which also works well in this recipe. Besan can be easily found in Indian or Asian stores outside India and online.

I also add rice flour in the batter as it helps in giving a crispy texture to pakora. Carom seeds (ajwain) is a spice I do not miss. It not only gives a nice thyme like aroma but also helps in digestion.

Generally, aloo pakora is deep fried and I tried many times to make these in the oven and in an air-fryer. Honestly speaking, I did not like the texture of these air-fried and baked aloo pakora.

The deep fried pakora has a better texture as well as taste. Having said that, you can experiment making these fritters in an oven or in an air-fryer.

Below there is a step-by-step method as I know that it can be difficult to get the texture and consistency of pakoras right.

Each potato slice should be coated completely with the batter and the aloo pakoras should puff up while frying. This makes the perfect Aloo pakora!

I hope this step-by-step method helps you to make pakoras the right way!

How to Make Aloo Pakora

Make Batter

1. Add 1 cup gram flour (besan), 2 tablespoon rice flour, ½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain), ¼ teaspoon red chili powder, ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing), 2 to 3 pinches of baking soda (optional) and salt as required to a bowl.

Baking soda helps to give a fluffy texture to the batter and the pakoras puff up while frying. You can consider to skip baking soda or use ¼ teaspoon baking powder.

Tip: Swap gram flour with chickpea flour if you do not have gram flour.

2. Add ⅔ to ¾ cup of water and mix. You should get a medium smooth consistency. Add water in parts, and mix to get the right consistency. The batter should not be very thick. You can choose to have a medium-thick or medium consistency.

The amount of water needed will depend on the texture and quality of your besan. Finely ground gram flour will need less water and a coarsely ground besan will need more water.

Tip: Whisk the batter with a spoon or wired whisk briskly for about 2 minutes. This continuous whisking aerates the batter which makes for a fluffy and soft texture in the pakora.

Slice Potato

3. Slice 1 medium to large potato thinly with a knife and set aside. Avoid using a mandolin slicer as the potato slices will be too thin.

Using thin potato slices will cause the pakoras to crisp up while frying and you want the potatoes to be soft and tender when cooked.

Also do not make cut the slices thick as this would make up for undercooked potato after being fried.

Batter Coat Potato Slices

4. Heat oil in a kadai and dip the slice in the batter. Make sure the whole potato slice is covered in batter.

Note that before you begin to batter coat the potatoes, heat oil in a kadai (wok) or a pan on medium to medium-high heat. Let the oil become hot.

Deep Fry Aloo Pakora

5. Gently place the batter coated potato slice in hot oil. The oil should not be too hot or cool. Hold the bowl in your left hand and with your right hand, coat the potatoes with the batter. Gently drip off any extra batter in the bowl. Lift the batter coated potato slice and carefully place it in the hot oil.

Add 5 to 6 or more potato slices in the pan depending on your pan size. Do not overcrowd the pan with a lot of fritters as this would reduce the temperature of oil and will also make up for less crispy pakora.

Checking hotness of oil: Before adding the aloo pakora, add a few drops of the batter from a spoon in the oil. If it comes up too quickly the oil is very hot. It should come up fast yet steadily. If it does not come up or comes up very slowly, the oil is not hot enough.

6. When one side is light golden or golden, turn over the pakora with a slotted spoon. Allow the second side to be fried until golden. Turn over a couple of times as needed for even cooking. Fry all the aloo pakora like this until they are golden and crisp on both sides.

Tip: Keep a bowl of water on the work surface, so that you can quickly rinse your batter-coated fingers in the bowl and then dry them with a kitchen towel. This way your hands will not get too messy while making the potato bajji.

7. Drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil. Serve aloo pakora hot or warm.

Tip: If you have leftover batter remaining after using up the entire batch of potato slices, then slice more potatoes and use up the remaining batter.

Serving Suggestions

Choose to serve with any of your favorite Indian dip like Coriander Chutney, Tamarind Chutney, Mint Chutney, Coconut Chutney, or Tomato Ketchup or Dry Garlic Chutney. I served the potato bajji with homemade Whole Wheat Bread and sweet pomegranate chutney.

You can also sprinkle ½ to 1 teaspoon of chaat masala powder or a few pinches of black salt on the potato pakora. Serve as an evening snack with Ginger Chai or Filter Coffee.

Sometimes I also serve these pakoras with the Mexican avocado dip Guacamole. It is truly yum. On occasions I make a pakora wrap filled with either aloo pakora or Onion Pakoda, guacamole and cilantro chutney.

Try making burgers with these potato fritters and I am sure you will love it with some Mayonnaise, lettuce, cheese and ketchup.

Pakora also pairs nicely with a Raita. Make your favorite yogurt raita to serve these crispy pakoras with.

Storage and Leftovers

Pakoras are best eaten hot. After cooling they loose their crispy texture but the taste will still be good. If you have leftover aloo pakoras, place them at room temperature for a few hours in a closed container or a covered bowl and try to eat them the same day.

Expert Tips

• Potatoes: Potatoes with a high starch content like Idaho or Russet potatoes are best for this recipe. Do not use potatoes with a gluey gummy texture. Also, avoid using a mandolin to slice the potatoes. This will cause the potatoes to be too thin and then they will crisp up when you fry them. Remember we want soft melt-in-the-mouth potato fritters!
• Batter: This pakora batter has a medium consistency. Make sure the batter is not too thin, runny, or too thick. Coating the potato slices in a thin batter will cause them to absorb too much oil while coating the potatoes in a thick batter will make the fritters doughy. You can keep the batter medium-thick if you prefer.
• Herbs and Spices: Bring more flavors in your aloo pakora recipe by including herbs like coriander leaves (cilantro), mint, curry leaves, garlic paste, finely chopped ginger/ginger paste or chopped green chillies.
• Oil: Choose any neutral oil with a high smoking point to deep fry like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grape seed oil, canola oil. You can also use peanut oil or mustard oil. With both these oils, the flavors of peanut and mustard will be felt in the pakora.
• Oil temperature: Make sure that the oil that you use to fry the aloo pakoras is not too hot or cold. To test the temperature of the oil add a few drops of batter to the oil. If it comes up too quickly the oil is very hot and if it does not come up or comes up very slowly, the oil is not hot enough. It should come up steadily and quickly.
• Baking & air frying: I did not get great results when I baked or air-fried aloo pakora. However, you can bake or air-fry them if you want. To do this preheat an oven or air-fryer for 10 minutes. Bake or air fry aloo pakora at a moderately hot temperature of 180 degrees celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit).

FAQs

This Aloo Pakora recipe from the blog archives was first published on February 2013. It has been updated on December 2024.