Cauliflower pakoda are delicious Indian fritters made with cauliflower florets, gram flour, spices and herbs. Also known as gobi pakora, these are crisp fried tea-time snack.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 300 to 350 grams cauliflower ((3 heaped cups florets))
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves
  • 2 green chilies ((adjust as needed))
  • 1¼ teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • 1½ teaspoon ajwain (/ carom seeds/ vaamu)
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder ((adjust))
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ cup besan ((gram flour))
  • ¼ cup rice flour ((or 2 tbsp rice flour + 2 tbsp corn flour))
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric ((optional))
  • water (as needed to sprinkle)
  • oil (for frying, as needed)

Method

Preparation

  1. Separate the florets from cauliflower. Do not chop them to small florets. (check the pictures in the step-by-step guide)
  2. Heat 4 cups of water in a pot until hot (not boiling). Add the cauliflower florets and sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt. You may also add turmeric to the water. This step is done to bring out the worms if any in the florets.
  3. Leave them for a minute or 2 and then drain the water. Rinse them thoroughly. Drain to a colander.
  4. Transfer them to a mixing bowl. Add ginger garlic paste, chopped curry leaves & green chilies. Sprinkle chili powder, carom seeds and garam masala all over. Mix them well.
  5. Sprinkle gram flour, rice flour and salt all over evenly. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsps water and begin to coat the gobi well with all the dry ingredients.
  6. Keep splashing more water as needed and mix until all of the flour coats the cauliflower well. It should resemble a wet marinade. (check pictures above)
  7. Taste test the batter and add more salt if needed.

Frying cauliflower pakoda

  1. Heat oil in a deep pan for frying until hot enough.
  2. To check if the oil is ready to fry, Drop a small portion of batter to the hot oil. The batter should rise if the oil is hot enough.
  3. Regulate the heat to medium. Gently drop each floret separately in the hot oil. Do not crowd a lot of them as they will get stuck and won't fry well.
  4. Do not stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Then use a perforated ladle and stir them gently. Fry until golden & crisp on a medium heat.
  5. The bubbles in the oil will reduce when the florets are fried well.
  6. Remove them to a steel colander. Serve cauliflower pakoda hot with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.