Aloo pakora are soft melt-in-the-mouth fried potato fritters coated in a delicious, golden, crispy gram flour batter. Make this awesome vegan potato snack also known as potato bajji in less than 30 minutes.
In a bowl take all the dry ingredients – besan, rice flour, carom seeds, red chili powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida (hing), baking soda (optional) and salt as required.
Add water in parts and mix to get a smooth medium consistency. Whisk the batter with a spoon or a wired whisk for about 2 minutes to aerate it.
Taste test the batter and add more salt or spices if needed.
Slicing potatoes
Rinse, peel and slice the potatoes thinly into rounds. Do not cut the potato slices too thin or transparent or thick.
Using very thin potato slices will cause the pakoras to crisp up while frying and you want the potatoes to be soft and tender when cooked. Thick slices would make up for undercooked potato after being fried.
Deep Frying
Heat oil for frying in a kadai (wok) or pan on medium heat. The oil has to be medium-hot before you begin to fry.
Dip each potato slice in the batter. Coat it evenly with the batter. Place the batter coated potato slice gently and carefully in the medium-hot oil.
Batter coat 5 to 6 potato slices or more depending on the size of your pan and place them in the hot oil.
When one side is light golden or golden, turn over the pakora with a slotted spoon. Fry the second side until crisp and golden. Turn over as needed a few times for even frying.
Fry until golden and crispy. Using a slotted spoon remove them from oil and place on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Fry the potato fritters in batches this way until golden and crisp. If you have leftover batter after frying all the potato slices, then slice more potatoes to use up the remaining batter.
I also serve these pakoras with the Mexican avocado dip Guacamole and it is so yum. On occasions I make a pakora wrap filled with either aloo pakora or Onion Pakoda, guacamole and cilantro chutney.
You could make making burgers or sliders with these potato fritters. 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 fritters with.
Storage and Leftovers
Pakoras are best eaten hot. After cooling they loose their crispy texture but the taste will 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.
Notes
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: Choose to bring more flavors in your pakora by adding 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).
Gluten free version: If you have gluten intolerance, then avoid adding asafeotida (hing) in the batter as the ground ones have traces of wheat.
Scaling: You can easily scale this recipe to make a large batch of aloo pakora for small get togethers or parties.