Cauliflower pakora (gobi pakora) are a traditional Indian snack or appetizer that are easy, tasty and versatile. Cook up some of these fritters to start your next Indian meal or add some to your game day or party menu!
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I've mentioned before that while we didn't have a huge range of ethnic food around when I was young, we did have good access to Indian food, and made some at home between occasional visits to a local restaurant.
While sometimes we'd go straight to mains (like lamb rogan josh and paneer Makhani), in many cases we'd start with a couple of appetizers. Along with poppadoms and dips, pakoras and bhajis were a popular choice.
What are pakora?
Pakora, or pakoda, are an Indian snack or appetizer, typically made from vegetables, dipped in a seasoned batter and fried. You can bake them, which is of course a bit healthier, but they are never going to have quite as much of that classic crispness.
You can spice up the batter as much as you like. It can vary a bit by region, but common additions are the spice mix garam masala, curry leaves, turmeric, chili, ginger and garlic. I've given a milder but flavorful mix below using easier to find ingredients. But after you've tried them, feel free to adjust to your taste.
Are pakora gluten free?
In this case, yes, and it's true of most. Pakora batter is usually primarily chick pea flour, also known as gram flour (technically these are very slightly different due to the variety of chickpea, but both work).
You can mix it with other flours to balance out the texture, since sometimes people find chickpea flour a little grainy or heavy. Rice flour is common, which keeps them gluten free. If you get them in a restaurant, though, it is worth asking in case they use a different mix.
Different types of pakora
You can use lots of different vegetables in pakora, with cauliflower, spinach, cabbage and onion being the most popular.
You can mix a few together for a mix of flavors and textures, and try other vegetables too. It's worth avoiding anything that has a high water content like zucchini or tomato, unless well squeezed out, but otherwise experiment away!
As I say, cauliflower aka gobi pakora are one of the more popular and I'd definitely recommend them. They're easy and addictively tasty!
You can either make them with mid-sized florets and just have roughly one per pakora, or you can make the pieces smaller and take scoops of the batter. If you use large florets, you may want to gently steam them before so that they will cook through properly.
How to fry pakora
You can deep fry these, which is more typical, but I find that shallow frying and then turning works just fine. It saves using too much oil if you don't have a deep fryer in use often, as is the case in our house.
I am pretty sure you could spray with oil and air fry as well, I just haven't experimented with that yet.
Once cooked, drain them on some paper towel before serving. This helps to get rid of as much excess oil as you can.
Serving ideas
You can serve them as they are, but they are also great dipped in green chutney or raita which is like a gently Indian spiced tzatziki (in fact you can make tzatziki and just add a little garam masala rather than mint).
They are great to serve with other Indian appetizers and snacks, like paneer tikka (spiced cheese and vegetable skewers), aloo chaat (fried potatoes with spices, chutney and herbs) and crisp poppadoms.
Cauliflower pakora are such flavor-packed little bites that are quick and easy to make. They are the perfect start to an Indian meal, as when I first had them, but they are equally good as part of any appetizer spread. Why not add them to your next game day menu? Make some soon and enjoy!
Try these other favorite Indian recipes:
- Mango lassi (a classic yogurt-based drink that's so refreshing)
- Brinjal pickle (eggplant pickle/aubergine chutney)
- Goan fish curry (a delicious slightly tart, spicy coconut-based curry)
- Plus get more Indian recipes in the archives.
Cauliflower pakora
Ingredients
- 1 cup cauliflower florets in bite-sized pieces
- ¼ cup chickpea flour (also called gram flour/garbanzo flour)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garlic (grated/crushed - a little more is fine)
- ¼ teaspoon ginger (fresh, grated)
- 3 tablespoon water or a little more if needed
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into small-ish florets so they are either bite-sized or slightly smaller. Wash and pat dry.
- Mix together the chickpea flour, salt, turmeric, garlic, ginger and water to make the batter. It should both drip gradually from spoon to bowl but still stick to the back of a spoon. It shouldn't be so thick it doesn't run off at all, but also you don't want it to feel liquidy.
- Put the pieces of cauliflower into the batter and mix well so the pieces of cauliflower are well coated in the batter. Spoon bits in to the gaps if needed.
- Heat some vegetable or other flavorless oil in a small skillet/frying pan - around ⅓ in (1 cm) deep or a little more. Once it is warm at a medium heat, take spoonfuls of the cauliflower and place in the pan (generally 1-2 pieces of cauliflower in each spoonful, depending on size).
- Once the pakora have been cooking around 2-3 minutes and are going golden on the bottom, turn over with a slotted spoon and cook on the other side. Turn to any other side not yet cooked if needed. Once golden all over, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon to drain off excess oil then put on paper towel to drain. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Serve either as they are or with raita (spiced yogurt dip).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Emily
Is it possible to freeze them and save for a later date? Or are they best when made and eaten right away?
Caroline's Cooking
I haven't tried, but I'd expect you'd certainly lose the crispiness - I'd recommend making them fresh, but if you do freeze, you could then warm in the oven after defrosting, which my help give a little crispness.
Shelly
Could you advise how to bake these please? I'm wondering if using an oil sprayer, and spraying lightly with veggie oil might work, but I'm looking for some advice. Also what temp for the oven and for how long? Any ideas?
Caroline's Cooking
I haven't tried it roasted, as I'm not sure you'll get quite the same crispness, but if I were to make a guess I'd say you want a fairly hot oven, say 400-425F, and around 25 minutes or so? But you'd have to keep an eye on it to be sure. I'd use a baking sheet to help it get crisp on the bottom and yes oil the baking sheet and spray over top with a bit oil too.
Tracey
I’ve just made these as a trial for a dinner party at the weekend. Made exactly as the recipe and they are perfect - truly delicious. Am serving with a homemade date and tamarind chutney, which works really well with them.
Caroline's Cooking
So glad you enjoyed, they were an instant hit here too. The chutney sounds like a great addition as well.
frugal hausfrau
What a fun appetizer! I could put down a few of these! YUM!
Mollie
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, me too!
Valentina
These look so yummy! I want one right now. Love that they're made with chickpea flour -- my son has Celiac and I'm always looking for new GF recipes he'll like. 🙂
Caroline's Cooking
These would be great then! The chickpea flour really helps them crisp, I think, plus agree very handy being GF.
Tisha
Delicious beautiful dish! So much flavor I can almost taste it!!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, there is indeed!
Cookilicious
your post reminded me of a restaurant I used to frequent as a youngster..I used to love these cauliflower pakora.. 🙂
Caroline's Cooking
They're a tasty little bite!
Matt @ Plating Pixels
What a beautiful dish. Reminds me a bit of chicken nuggets, but a great way to get more veggies.
Caroline's Cooking
Ha, they do look similar but I'd argue these are much better 🙂
Cindy Gordon
I love cauliflower so this is a perfect match for me. I didn't know this was a traditional Indian snack! Love it when you provide additional info with the recipes!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, yes it's so tasty and you can taste the lovely Indian spices in there.