This crispy chicken pakora is a famous Pakistani and Indian street food. The perfect snack, appetizer, or side, this easy recipe requires only 15 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking time.
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Pakoras are a category of street food that’s incredibly popular throughout South Asia. To make them, vendors combine simple ingredients like vegetables or chicken with Indian spices. The combination is then coated in besan or gram flour before being fried in hot oil. Popular variations include paneer pakora, aloo pakora, spinach pakora, and this crispy chicken pakora.
My version of this dish is about creating an easy recipe that doesn’t sacrifice flavor. Ground chicken, besan (gram flour), and an array of spices are combined and deep-fried to make crispy, crunchy, golden-brown bites. Serve the chicken pakora hot and fresh from the Karahi or air fryer with mint chutney or sweet chili sauce to impress your guests or satisfy the pickiest eaters.
For more chicken recipes, try my chicken samosa recipe and chicken puff pastry (Pakistani chicken patties).
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Why you'll love this chicken pakora recipe
- Kid-friendly recipe - My kids LOVE this chicken pakora recipe ... I mean, devour it! I've also made it for parties when their friends visit, and it's always a popular snack or meal option.
- Great snack during summer - This recipe takes very little time to put together, and it's a favorite in my house during summer vacation for both kids and adults.
- A nice change from traditional chicken nuggets - This delicious recipe is a fun alternative to conventional chicken nuggets.
- Gluten-free recipe - Gram flour (besan) is gluten-free, making this recipe perfect for cooking for a crowd with dietary restrictions.
Ingredient notes
- Ground chicken - For this recipe, I usually buy store-bought ground chicken. If it's out of stock, I buy boneless chicken thighs and grind them in my food processor.
- Cumin powder - I like to use homemade cumin powder for these pakoras. It takes barely 5 minutes to make, and I usually batch it and store it in an airtight jar. If you don't have the time to make your own, I highly recommend this wild mountain cumin, recommended by my friend Eric Samuelson, at eatlikenoone.com
- Ajwain seeds (carom seeds) - You can find these at your local South Asian grocery store or on Amazon. I use Ajwain in many recipes, like my masala fry fish curry, tandoori shrimp, and aloo masala.
- Besan (gram flour) - Besan, also known as gram flour, is made from split Bengal gram lentils (chana daal). It is different from chickpea flour, which is made from garbanzo beans. However, if you can't source besan, substitute chickpea flour for this recipe.
- Egg - This helps provide structure to the pakoras and binds everything together. While initially, the chicken pakora mixture will seem soggy after adding the egg, once it's chilled and then fried, this ingredient will benefit the pakora.
- Cooking oil - When deep frying anything, you'll want to pick a neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point. This means that the oil can handle cooking at high temperatures. Peanut, vegetable, and canola oil are excellent and affordable options.
Substitutions & variations
- Kashmiri chili powder - Kashmiri chilies have a distinct flavor integral to Pakistani and Indian food recipes like this one. Although it’s hard to replicate, you can make your variation of Kashmiri chili powder using 3 parts paprika and 1 part cayenne per teaspoon of Kashmiri chili powder.
- Ginger - I prefer fresh ginger for my pakora recipe because of its bold, fresh flavor. However, in a pinch, use ground ginger or store-bought ginger paste.
- Chicken - If you prefer, you can opt for boneless chicken breasts or thighs. The breasts will create crunchy chicken bites, but the leanness of the meat may make the pakora a bit dry. Since thigh meat is fattier, the pakoras will be more succulent. Be sure to cut the meat into small pieces for easier preparation.
- Make it vegan - To make this a vegan recipe, Use tofu or vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower, or spinach (a few popular choices).
- Change the spices - Some optional add-ins are dried pomegranate seeds, fenugreek, and curry leaves.
Step-by-step chicken pakora recipe instructions
- First step - Mix all your spices with the ground chicken.
- Second step- Add all the fresh ingredients, such as the onions, garlic, ginger, chilies, and cilantro.
- Third step - Add chickpea flour (besan) next.
- Fourth step - Mix in the egg and let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Fifth step - Preheat the cooking oil in a large pot or karahi over high heat and then scoop the mixture in batches, using a small cookie scoop.
- Sixth step - Drop tablespoons of the ground chicken mixture into the hot oil, deep frying until the pakoras are golden brown.
- Seventh step - Use reliable products like the chef alarm and the Thermapen from Thermoworks.com to ensure perfect results.
- Eighth step - Break open a pakora to ensure it's cooked through.
Expert Tips
- Marinate the mixture - Place the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This helps fuse all the flavors and form round, even balls for the pakoras.
- Fry the pakoras in batches - Adding too many pakoras to the pre-heated oil lowers the oil temperature, making the pakoras soft and soggy. To avoid this, I fry the pakoras in batches (usually no more than 6 at a time).
- Control the heat - I usually fry the first batch on high heat and lower the heat for subsequent bathes. You will need to be very vigilant at this step. If the heat is too high, the meat will either be uncooked or the outside overcooked. The pakoras will end up chewy if the heat is too low.
- Use a thermometer - For best results, use a meat thermometer and cook to an internal temperature of 165?.
Chicken pakora recipe FAQS
For best results, I recommend frying the pakoras. However, if you want to try this recipe in your air fryer, I recommend pre-heating it to 400. Shape the ground chicken mixture into small rounds, coat them in olive oil, and air fry them for 15 minutes. Make sure to check on them and turn them halfway through.
For crispier pakoras, use only egg white and not the yolk, and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and ¼ cup rice flour to your mixture.
The pakoras can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, defrost in the fridge overnight and then preheat your oven to 350?. Place the defrosted pakoras in an even layer on a large baking sheet and heat for 15 minutes.
If you have lots of leftovers and don't want to freeze them; add them to a karhi recipe, or plate them and layer with yoghurt, potatoes and other toppings for a delicious chaat recipe.
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Crispy Chicken Pakora
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon corriander powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chillies
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon ajwain(carom)seeds (see notes)
- ½ chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon crushed ginger
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 chopped green chili
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup besan(gram flour) (see notes)
- 1 egg (see notes)
- 2 cups cooking oil (see notes)
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients except the cooking oil.
- Let the mixture marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Preheat the cooking oil and start frying the pakoras in batches.
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