Aloo Pakora Recipe (Potato Fritters) Aloo Bajji

Name: Aloo Pakora Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 piece Large Potatoes; ½ Cup Garam Flour - Basen; 1 & ½ Tbsps. Rice Flour or Corn Flour; ½ tsp Red Chili Powder; ½ Tsp Salt; ½ Tsp Chili Flakes; 2 Tbsps. Chopped Coriander leaves; ½ Tsp Chaat Masala; ⅓ Tsp Turmeric Powder; ½ Tsp Cumin Powder; 1 kg Oil For fry - As required

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Aloo Pakora is a crispy savory vegetarian street food snack..
Made with potato slices, dipping in the spicy chickpea flour (besan) batter.
Deep fried until golden and crispy.
Quick and easy to come together in 10-20 minutes.
Season with chat masala just before to serve.
Enjoy with different chutney, raita, and ketchup.

What is Aloo Pakora

Potato Bajji or Potato Fritters are alternative names of tea-time Snack. This desi Potato Snack is a famous street food and family favorite tea-time snack. Easy to whip up with basic kitchen ingredients like potato, gram flour, spices and oil. They can also be air-fried or baked in the oven.

The process of making, start by peeling and thinly slicing potatoes. Then, dip these slices into a batter made from besan (gram flour). Every type of fritters or pakoras are made by besan or gram flour. Besan batter is flavored with spices like Carom seeds (ajwain), salt, red chili powder, turmeric and garam masala.

Finally, the dipped potato slices are deep-fried to attain desired crispiness and golden hue. Chaat Masala seasoning enhances its flavor profile. I always love to eat these crispy potato pakoras in my free time from road side food carts or stalls especially in Ramzan iftars.

I always say there is no fix time period to enjoy this delightful snack. Whether it’s a rainy or sunny day, these are your go-to snacks, along with traditional drinks and beverages. You can also enjoy Chicken pakora and aloo ki tikki with onion raita.

Ingredients of Potato Fritters

Potato – Let’s start with potatoes. We need starchy potatoes for this festive snack recipes. Yukon and Russet potatoes are ideal for deep frying. Peel the potato first and make uniform slices. You can slice them with sharp knife but different slicers are also available to complete this task easily.
Gram flour – It is also called Besan, made from ground chickpeas. It’s used in various snacks, sweets, and curries. Strain it thoroughly and remove any lumps by stirring through a strainer. Besan is also vegan and naturally gluten-free.
Rice flour – It gives an extra crunchy and crisp punch. You can replace it with corn starch.
Powder Spices – Here we need red chili powder, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, and carom seeds (ajwain). Chaat masala adds a tangy flavor and enhances the taste similar to Indian Punjabi pakora.
Water – It will be used to form a batter by adding it to the gram flour. Start by adding slowly until the batter reaches the right consistency.
Oil – We need 2 to 3 inches deep oil for deep frying. Utilize any oil you have at home.

How to Make Aloo Pakora

The process of making aloo ka pakora is easy. Just follow my easy instructions along with my tips that will lead you a satisfying Indian Potato Fritters.

Slice the potatoes

Potato – Firstly, I will wash the potatoes properly and peel them. After peeling, cut them into even thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick.

Make Pakora Batter

Make gram flour Batter – Take a mixing bowl and combine all ingredients, including gram & rice flour and powdered spices (salt, turmeric, red chili powder, coriander and ajwain). Mix them well.

Add water into Gram Flour – Add water gradually (3 to 4 tablespoons) and add a little more until the batter becomes a smooth paste. Not too thick or runny.

The batter should be thick-flowing and lumps free. Too thick and thin will destroy the texture. Thin/runny batter will soak up a lot of oil and too thick batter will make the pakora doughy. Adjust the consistency by adding water or gram flour.

Fry aloo ka Pakora

Heat the Oil – Take a deep pan and heat 3 inches deep oil for frying on medium-high flame. The oil should be heated enough to prevent from becoming greasy and burning.

Check Oil Temperature – Once the oil is heated, check the temperature with a thermometer (180C or 360F). Otherwise, you can utilize a drop of batter of a potato slice. If the drop of batter rises to the surface in 3-4 seconds, the oil is ready for frying. However, if the drop rises instantly, the oil is too hot. Slow down the heat and wait for moderately hot oil.

Coat the Slices with Batter – Mix the batter first with whisk then dipping the slices in this batter. Coat each side of the slice evenly and carefully place them in the hot oil.

Place Pakora in oil – Drop each slice one by one quickly. Don’t move them instantly with spoon, after placing them in the hot oil. Wait for one or two minutes, then flip each slice and cook until firm.

Fry Until Crispy– Cook the coated slices from both sides until crisp and golden and soft from inside.

Drain The Oil – Remove them with a slotted or wired skimmer spoon and let the excess oil drip off.

Fry in Batches – Place them on a paper towel and enjoy with a sprinkle of chaat masala. Fry the rest of the slices in small groups and keep the pan from getting too full.

“Indian Potato Fritters, being deep-fried, are high in calories and fat. This is the reason they are less healthy. However, using healthier ingredients and baking or air-frying can make them a better healthier option.”

How to Serve it?

These aloo fritters, or potato fritters, pair deliciously with a variety of dips and chutneys. Here are some flavorful options to consider serving alongside them.

With Dips – Serve them with homemade different dips or chutney like Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Mint Chutney, onion raita and Coconut Chutney etc.
With Ketchup – Enjoy with tomato Ketchup, Chili Garlic Ketchup or with Garlic yogurt dip.
With Paratha and Roti – It goes well with roti, paratha and with any type of curry.
Hot Tea and Chilled Beverages – Aloo Pakoda pairs wonderfully well with a delicious hot cup of tea or you can choose chilled beverages of your choice.

How to Store and Reheat ?

In my home, everyone loves to eat them as much as possible, so there is no word of storing leftover pakora in my home. I recommend you always make enough pakora to be consumed in the same day.

By storing, homemade pakora become soggy and lose their texture. Still, the taste remains good, but there is no compression of fresh crips and crunchy pakora.

If you have leftover fritters, let them cool down. Then store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat them in an air fryer or oven before eating.

Extra Tips For Aloo Bajji

Potatoes – Slice the potatoes to an even size. You can use different slicers, but my favorite is a mandoline slicer.
Batter – The batter should be thick-flowing and lumps free. Too thick and thin will destroy the texture. Thin/runny batter will soak up a lot of oil and too thick batter will make the pakora doughy. Adjust the consistency by adding water or gram flour.
Oil Temperature – Heat the oil on a medium-high flame. Always check the oil temperature using a kitchen thermometer (180C and 370F) before frying. High heat browns pakora but leaves insides undercook; low heat makes them oily.
Fry in Small Batches – Don’t put too many potato slices in the pan at once. It lowers the oil’s temperature, which results in greasy and non-crispy aloo
Cool on Rack – After frying, put the pakoras on a rack over a baking sheet. This will help to keep them crispy, avoiding the steam you get from paper towels over a plate.
Use Slotted Spoon – Use a slotted spoon to remove aloo bajji from the oil. It helps to drain extra oil quickly.

Me and Pakoras

I have grown up eating these pakoras. During Ramadan, especially at iftar, We always cook pakoras. Because these are a staple in Muslim households during Ramzan. Initially, my attempts to make pakoras resulted in soggy pieces, but my elder sister taught me some valuable tips to make them crispy.

Ahhhhhhh Those tips helped me ever since. My brother, kids, and adults of my house love to eat, and my mom shares pakoras with neighbors every time.

Many people believe that rain and pakoras have a special connection. While most enjoy pakoras during the monsoon season. I believe Pakora are consumed in large quantities every day, regardless of the waiting rainy weather. hahaha.

How to Make Pakora Crispy?

I have described some instruction which will lead you for a crispy aloo pakora recipe.

Use dry potato slices only.
Add rice flour or baking soda to the gram flour batter for extra crispness.
Mix a moderate amount of water into the spiced gram flour until it become thick and smooth paste. Not too much runny and too thick.
Make sure the oil is hot enough (360F or 180C).
Fry aloo pakora on medium flame once the oil is heated. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
Properly drain the extra oil by placing them on a rack.

Variations

I have tried to provide you various Pakora variations in below. You can also utilize the leftover gram flour batter by making these. I hope you also give a try to them and each of them provide you a unique twist and flavor.

Variation	Description
Stuffed Pakora	Cheese and spices between potato slices, dipped and fried.
Spinach Pakora	Batter mixed with finely chopped spinach and grated potato.
Pakoras Sandwich	Pakoras placed between bread slices with chutney, then grilled.
Peas and Potato Pakora	Boiled, mashed peas mixed with potato slices in the batter.
Aloo and onion Pakora	Small pieces of potato and onion mixed garam flour.
Mix Vegetable Pakora	Batter made with different vegetables along with chopped potato.

FAQ

What could be causing my pakoras to soggy?

The first reason is a runny or thin batter; add some rice flour or gram flour to thicken it. The second reason could be frying it in coolly-heated oil. Ensure the oil is heated enough before frying.

How to make Pakistani potato pakora at home?

Thin potato slices are dipped into thick and spiced gram flour batter, fried from both side till crisp, crunchy and golden. Easy to whip up at home in less then 20 minutes.

Is pakora a healthy food or not?

Being deep-fried, It is high in calories and fat. This is the reason they are less healthy. However, using healthier ingredients and baking or air-frying can make them a better healthier option.

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