Mixed Vegetable pakora are veggie fritters made in South Indian style. They are addictive, aromatic, crunchy and a delicious snack. Serve them with cup of tea or coriander chutney or mint chutney.

Recipe Snapshot

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

Ingredients

  • ½ cup besan ((gram flour, more if needed))
  • ¼ cup rice flour ((or 2 tablespoons corn starch, use more if needed proportionally with besan))
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 green chili peppers (chopped or ½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes (adjust to taste))
  • 2 tablespoons mint leaves (or coriander leaves or dill leaves chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or crushed ginger)
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder ((optional))
  • ½ teaspoons carom seeds ((ajwain, optional))
  • oil for deep frying as needed
  • 1 medium carrot ((¾ cup julienned))
  • ¼ cup capsicum ((bell peppers))
  • 1 cup cabbage ((shredded))
  • 1 medium onion ((thinly sliced))
  • 6 french beans ((julienned))
  • 1 cup spinach (chopped (optional))

Method

Preparation

  1. Wash the veggies and cut to thin 2 inch long strips. Check the pictures in the post.
  2. Add them to a bowl along with ginger garlic, green chilies (or chilli flakes), salt, garam masala, mint or other herbs. Mix well & squeeze them gently to release moisture. Keep aside for 10 mins.
  3. Add the gram flour, rice flour (or corn starch) along with ajwain (optional). Mix well to a slightly sticky dough. If the dough is too dry, sprinkle a few tablespoons of water and mix. It must be of a sticky dough consistency and not batter consistency.
  4. Taste test and add more salt, garam masala or green chilies.

How to Make Pakora

  1. Heat oil in a deep pan on a medium heat. Test by dropping a small portion of dough, it must sizzle and come up but not brown. This is the right temperature.
  2. Take small portions of dough and flatten with your fingers to 1½ inch size portions and gently slide to the hot oil. You won't shape it or drop it in lumps.
  3. Regulate the flame to medium. Do not disturb for a minute or 2 until they firm up a bit. Then stir them and fry until golden, crisp and aromatic.
  4. Remove the vegetable pakoras to a cooling rack or steel colander. To make the next batch, ensure the oil is hot enough but not smoking hot. Fry in batches until you finish all of the prepared dough.
  5. Serve vegetable pakora hot with a cup of masala tea, Coriander chutney or green chutney.
  6. To keep them crispy for longer, place them on a wired rack in a low oven setting. You can also reheat them in air fryer.

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.