The search for the best chicken pakora ends here! Crispy & crunchy on the outside and tender & juicy on the inside – chicken pakora could undisputedly win the best snack award!
If you are a chicken lover, I am sure you must already be in love with chicken pakora! I mean, who wouldn’t be! This is such a delicious snack that every chicken lover will fall for it instantly!
The rustic chicken pakora has been popular for ages and because of its simplicity, it appeals to all and has won the test of time!
The recipe of chicken pakora is so simple & easy that anyone can follow it; plus it is totally customizable and you can create new variations of your signature style chicken pakora with just minor tweaks!
For example, instead of the traditional chicken pakoras which are made using regular Indian spices, you can swap the spices with soy sauce, chilli sauce and spring onion and make a Chinese style chicken fritters. And replace besan with maida and you would be sorted!
What is chicken pakora?
Chicken pakora is a popular bite sized Indian snack which is loved by most of the chicken lovers. It is a kind of chicken fritter which is coated with besan aka chickpea flour and rice flour.
Rice flour gives the much-loved crispiness to the pakoras and besan gives the binding. You cannot skip either. Without besan, the batter will fall apart and without rice flour, the pakoras will not be crispy at all!
Do you know why we love chicken pakora so much? Because of the unmatched pleasure it gives to our taste buds! Let me explain!
When you bite the crunchy pakora and start enjoying it, your mouth experiences the succulent chicken inside which is beautifully flavored with delicious spices & right amount of seasoning.
The combination of crispy coating with tender & juicy chicken is simply mind-blowing and wins over our soul! And that’s the USP of our very own chicken pakora!
Pro tips for making crispy & succulent chicken pakora
If you want to make restaurant quality chicken pakora, you need to bear the following tips in mind! If you are able to follow these tips & tricks, I can guarantee that your pakoras will come out super addictive!
- Do not use chicken breast for making chicken pakora. Chicken breast is a lean meat and cooks really fast. Due to lack of fat, it is not suitable for high heat cooking. Because the pakoras are deep fried, chicken breast meat turns tough in hot oil.
- Use skinless & boneless chicken thighs if you want to make the best chicken pakora ever! Dark chicken meat i.e. the thighs and legs retain their tenderness & juiciness thanks to their high fat content.
- Use a heavy bottomed deep wok or kadai to fry your chicken pakoras. Heavy pan keeps the oil warm at the right temperature whereas thin & light pans make the oil too hot quickly and it becomes difficult to maintain the right oil temperature. According to me, cast iron kadai is best for frying chicken pakora.
- Do not cook too many pakoras together. If you put too many chicken pieces into the oil, the temperature of the oil will drop significantly and the chicken will start releasing too much water. Then instead of being crispy, chicken pakora will turn out soggy.
Ingredients for chicken pakora
Let’s take a quick look at the ingredient list needed for chicken pakora.
Chicken thigh: As mentioned in the pro tips above, I strongly recommend using chicken thighs and not chicken breast for making pakoras. Get the boneless & skinless filets of chicken thighs and cut them into 1⁄2 inch pieces. You don’t need to be uniform with the pieces; the beauty of chicken pakora is in its rustic shapes.
Spices: For my chicken pakoras, I have used the traditional spices i.e. turmeric powder,
Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala. These spices do not overpower the chicken but flavor the meat beautifully when mixed with the aromatics.
Aromatics: A generous amount of ginger paste and garlic paste need to be added for infusing your chicken. Aromatics kill the raw smell of meat and impart mindblowing flavors at the same time.
Coriander leaves: Add half a cup of freshly chopped coriander leaves to add a burst of freshness with all the spices.
Green chilli: If you like it hot, add finely chopped green chillies. Green chillies make a killer combination with chicken pakoras but of course it is not for the faint hearted! So please skip it if you don’t like it spicy or if you are making it for kids.
Egg: Egg will work as the binding liquid and will also keep the chicken tender.
Yogurt/curd: Curd will soften the chicken and will also add a subtle tanginess to the pakoras.
Besan/chickpea flour: To make the outer coating of chicken pakoras, I have used besan. It gives the golden brown color to your pakoras and binds the chicken pieces well.
Rice flour: For the crispiness, you will need a good amount of rice flour. Ratio of besan and rice flour would be 2:1 i.e. you will need rice flour double the quantity of besan. I had added ¼ cup besan and half a cup of rice flour for the amount of chicken I used.
Salt: Season your chicken pakoras with salt to taste. You can also add freshly crushed black pepper for a mild peppery kick.
Oil: Use a good quality oil which is suitable for deep frying i.e. which has a high smoking point. No olive oil please! Mustard oil, canola oil, and sunflower oil are few good choices.
How to make chicken pakora?
Let’s break down the step by step process of the chicken pakora recipe.
Step 1: First we will prepare the chicken. Wash and pat dry the chicken thighs and cut them into small pieces of about ½ inch length. Take them in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala and salt to the chicken pieces. Give a good mix to distribute the spices evenly all over the chicken.
Step 3: Now add the yogurt/curd, ginger paste, garlic paste, freshly chopped coriander leaves and green chillies if using. Give the chicken pieces a good massage with all the aromatics so that each piece is thoroughly coated. Take your time at this step and mix really well.
Step 4: Leave the chicken to marinate for an hour or more to allow the flavors to develop. When you are ready to fry, proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Add the egg, besan/chickpea flour and rice flour to the marinated chicken. Preferably using your hand, mix all the ingredients thoroughly with the chicken. It may look a little watery but that should be okay and as you continue mixing, the flours will stick to the chicken.
Step 6: Heat a deep frying wok or kadai and add enough oil to it to deep fry the chicken pakora.
Step 7: Heat the oil but not too much. If it becomes too hot, switch off the flame and let the oil come back to medium high temperature.
Pro tip: Maintaining the right temperature is crucial to churn out crispy chicken pakora which is crunchy on the outside but tender and completely cooked on the inside. You can check the temperature by dropping a pinch of liquidy batter from the marinated chicken. If there are too many bubbles, then you need to cool down the oil a bit.
Step 8: Keeping the flame on medium, drop in one marinated & coated chicken piece at a time. If your wok/kadai is small, then fry your pakoras in batches, about 6 to 7 at a time. Do not overcrowd the kadai; then the pakoras will not come out crispy.
Step 9: Fry the batch of chicken pakora for 7 to 8 minutes. Then flip them over and fry them for another 5 to 6 minutes. The pakoras should turn golden brown but not too deep brown.
Step 10: Take the pakoras out using a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil.
Step 11: Repeat with remaining pakoras and once all the pakoras are fried to perfection, serve them warm with your favorite chutney or ketchup!
Other delicious snacks recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Homemade Classic Chicken Hot Dog
- Cheesy Hot Dog on a Stick *Video Recipe*
- Crispy Fried Golden Shrimps
- Chicken thigh - 400 gms, skinless and boneless
- Turmeric powder - ¾ tsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder - ½ tsp
- Garam masala - ½ tsp
- Ginger paste - 1 tsp
- Garlic paste - 1 tsp
- Coriander leaves - ½ cup chopped
- Green chilli - 1 or 2, finely chopped (optional)
- Egg - 1
- Yogurt/curd - ¼ cup
- Besan/chickpea flour - ¼ cup
- Rice flour - ½ cup
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
- Wash and pat dry the chicken thighs and cut them into small pieces of about ½ inch length. Take them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala and salt to the chicken pieces. Give a good mix to distribute the spices evenly all over the chicken.
- Now add the yogurt/curd, ginger paste, garlic paste, freshly chopped coriander leaves and green chillies if using. Give the chicken pieces a good massage with all the aromatics so that each piece is thoroughly coated. Take your time at this step and mix really well.
- Leave the chicken to marinate for an hour or more to allow the flavors to develop. When you are ready to fry, proceed to the next step.
- Add the egg, besan/chickpea flour and rice flour to the marinated chicken. Preferably using your hand, mix all the ingredients thoroughly with the chicken.
- Heat a deep frying wok or kadai and add enough oil to it to deep fry the chicken pakora.
- Heat the oil but not too much. If it becomes too hot, switch off the flame and let the oil come back to medium high temperature.
- Keeping the flame on medium, drop in one marinated & coated chicken pakora at a time. If your wok/kadai is small, then fry your pakoras in batches, about 6 to 7 at a time. Do not overcrowd the kadai; then the pakoras will not come out crispy.
- Fry the chicken pakoras for 7 to 8 minutes. Then flip them over and fry them for another 5 to 6 minutes. The pakoras should turn golden brown but not too deep brown.
- Take the pakoras out using a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil.
- Repeat with remaining pakoras and once all the pakoras are fried to perfection, serve them warm with your favorite chutney or ketchup! Enjoy!
Liked the recipe? Let us know!