Crispy fried chicken pakora can easily beat any other chicken appetizer. Tender and juicy boneless chicken cubes marinated in Indian spices and herbs, coated with gram flour (besan) paste, and deep fried to a golden brown texture make a perfect flavor of party snack.

Check out 3 easy ways to make extremely crispy pakoras with onion and potatoes.
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What is Chicken Pakora
Chicken Pakora (pakoda) is the traditional road side snack of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Getting famous in Middle east. Some people call it Pakora, Pakoda, or Bajji according to their regional language. Basically, it's a diversified form of fried chicken fritters prepared with gram flour paste.
Crispy bites of tender and juicy chicken are loaded with spiced flavor.
It's a popular snack associated with the rainy season as people love to make pakoras as the rain starts or the thick cloud surrounds the sky.
In Muslim culture, Pakora is the main snack of Ramadan iftar and people make it in different ways with onion, vegetables, fish, bread, and chicken. I love to make chicken pakoras as it's a super simple and easy recipe and my family loves to have it with evening tea. My 7 years old son loves to have these crispy pakoras with ketchup. If you didn't try Chicken Pakora then give it a try and you will surely love the texture, crispiness, and taste of chicken fried with chickpea flour (besan). If you don't want to make it at home then try at any Indian or Pakistani restaurant with your family.
Why I Love This Recipe
Everybody loves fried chicken and pakora so they both combines then it formed a golden, nutty, crispy, and aromatic fritter that everybody loves to eat. I personally love making this at teatime as it doesn't take much time to prepare and fry.
I prefer to make it as a party snack as it takes less time to fry so I can manage my time to marinate the chicken in besan before a day and refrigerate it in an airtight container. Take out before an hour of frying. Don't forget to give a good mix with hands/spoon before frying as it will give the crispy and crunchy texture of chicken pakoras.
Ingredients
Boneless chicken: Use chicken breast to make chicken pieces. Small pieces make a perfect taste so avoid big pieces of chicken.
Spices and Herbs: Marinate the chicken with salt, red peppers, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, chaat masala, garlic, and ginger powder. Chopped onion, green chilies, and freshly chopped coriander are used to add a perfect taste to the marinated chicken.
Gram Flour: It's a chickpea flour known as besan used as the main ingredient of pakora batter. Used corn flour and rice flour to add extra crispiness to pakoras.
Oil For Frying: Use any sunflower or vegetable oil for frying.
SEE ALSO: Pan Fried Eggplant
How to Make Chicken Pakora
Here I am making a traditional deep fried recipe of chicken pakora that anybody can make within 20 minutes (Exclude marination time). Super quick, simple, and easy!
Making of chicken pakora is the 3 steps process:
Marinate the Chicken: First, marinate the chicken in salt,
Coat the Chicken: Add gram flour (besan), rice flour, and cornflour and coat the chicken. Then add little water to make a thick paste.
Deep Frying: In a preheated oil pan, add the chicken pieces one by one and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat/flame until the chicken turned to golden brown color.
Video
Don't forget to check out the detailed Recipe card or watch the video!
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Try this crispy 'Chicken Pakora Recipe'. You can easily make it at home to serve as a side dish. Share with your friends and family and I am sure they are gonna love it. You can join our Facebook group of foodies to interact with other foodies!! At Hinz cooking, you can find more recipes related to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and teatime. Explore recipe collection to get your desired recipes.
Expert Tips
- Use breast or thigh portion of boneless chicken as it's more tender and juicy and cooks perfectly during frying.
- Strain the gram flour (besan) or flour before use.
- You can make variations in spices and herbs as per your choice and taste.
- Don't make the pakora mixture runny. It should be thick and properly stick on chicken
- Never fry chicken on extremely high heat otherwise the chicken will not cook from inside.
- Corn flour and rice flour are used to add extra crispiness in chicken texture.
Don't Forget to Watch: Shish Tawook | Chicken Spring Rolls
Serving Idea
Chicken Pakora is a form of fried chicken so you can serve with any dip or sauce that you like. Traditionally the recipe is served with yogurt mint chutney, green chutney, and Tamarind dip (Imli ki chutney). You can also serve with simple tomato ketchup if serving to kids. I love to have honey garlic sauce that makes a perfect taste. If you didn't try and give it a try.
How to Store
- You can store the chicken pakora marination in an airtight container in the freezer for 15 days. When you need to fry, take it out. Defrost the chicken and add gram flour, corn flour, and rice flour and fry accordingly.
- You can refrigerate the leftover fried pakoras. Before eating, warm it on a skillet at low flame. (Leftover is not crispy as the freshly fried pakoras).
Variations
FAQS
How to make chicken pakora in an air fryer?
If you want to avoid deep frying then try this in your air fryer and it will be soft, tender, and crispy pakora without oil.
Place an aluminum foil on your air fryer tray and brush it with oil. Now place the pakora mixture in the tray and drizzle little oil over it. You can use olive oil or any other vegetable oil. Close the fryer and cook for about 30 minutes at 300 F. Once ready, serve with your favorite chutney or sauce.
Is it a Scottish Dish?
It's an Indian snack but people love to have it in Scotland and available everywhere so many people think it's a Scottish recipe.
Is Chicken Pakora Healthy?
The recipe is prepared with chicken which is protein-rich and chickpea flour (besan) is gluten-free. It's a low-carb recipe that you can eat. To make a perfect healthy version, try it in the air fryer or you can shallow fry the pakoras. Deep frying definitely increases the calories count. If you are seeking weight loss recipes, then try this in the air fryer.
Is Chicken Pakora Gluten Free?
Yes, it's is! Chicken, chickpea flour, rice flour, and cornflour all are gluten free. So if you are seeking gluten free recipes then must try this.
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Chicken Pakora (Pakoda Recipe)
Equipment
- Frying Pan
Materials
- 250 g Boneless Chicken
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Crushed Chilies
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat Masala
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ginger Powder
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoon Chopped Onion
- 1 teaspoon Green Chilies
- 1 teaspoon Chopped Coriander
- ½ Cup Gram Flour
- 1 tablespoon Corn Flour
- 1 tablespoon Rice Flour
- 2 Pinches Soda bi Carbonate optional: 2 Pinches
- 100 ml Water
- Oil for Frying
Instructions
- In a bowl, place chicken and marinate with salt, crushed chili (chili flakes powder), cumin powder, garam masala, red chili powder, chaat masala, garlic and ginger powder.
- Squeeze a fresh lemon over the spices.
- Give it a good mix and marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add gram flour, corn flour and rice flour in marinated chicken.
- Again mix it well to coat the chicken pieces with flour.
- Now gradually add water to make a thick pakora paste.
- Preheat the oil in pan.
- Deep fry the chicken on medium flame to cook perfectly from inside and out. It will take 5 to 6 minutes to perfectly cook the chicken.
- Take out chicken on kitchen paper as it turned to golden brown color.
- Serve with sauce or chutney.
Video
Notes
- I love to use chicken breast or thigh portion to make pakora as it's more tender and juicy and gives a perfect taste and texture of pakoras.
- As a best practice, always strain besan before use.
- It's easy to make variations in spices and herbs as per your taste.
- You can skip the fresh lemon juice with vinegar.
- Pakora batter should be thick and consistent. If it's runny then add more gram flour to adjust the consistency.
- Avoid frying chicken at ultra-high temperature.
- Fry chicken at a medium temperature so the chicken cooks perfectly from inside.
- Corn flour and rice flour are used to add extra crispiness to fried chicken.
Hinz
One of the best chicken snack that you can try if you love fried chicken. Simple and easy recipe to make pakora with boneless chicken. Serve with evening tea or as appetizer!