The lightest, crispiest and juiciest homemade chicken pakora recipe you'll ever try. I got frustrated with dry, tasteless chicken from the takeaway, so I decided to make my own. And you should too!
Granted, it’s deep-fried, but I'm Scottish so it's a rite of passage at this point. And no one ever makes Indian Food if they’re planning to be health-conscious.
Why You Should Make Chicken Pakora At Home
- It's BETTER than the takeaway, as so often the chicken can be dry and overcooked. Not yours though!
- Once you’ve mastered this pakora, you’ll be coating everything in gram flour and deep-frying it! Tempura who?!
- You should check out my Pink Pakora Sauce recipe too 'cause it means you can make as much as you want and not have to pay 50 pence per extra tub.
Ingredients
- Chicken: I use chicken breast, as that is what is most commonly used in a takeaway or restaurant, but you could use thigh instead if desired (this would reduce the cost). I cut the breast into ‘mini fillets’, but you chop it into chunks instead for little chicken pakora nuggets.
- Vegetable Oil: this is the most common type of oil for frying, but you can use sunflower oil or canola oil (just try to opt for an oil with a high smoke point (i.e. can withstand high temperatures). If you prefer an animal based option, then you can use animal tallow / lard / fat.
- Ginger + Garlic Puree: you can use the garlic/ginger paste combined - 2 tablespoons of this would be required.
Spices
As is the case with lots of indian cooking, don’t worry too much if you don’t have one specific spice. Missing one ingredient or substituting it for another will not alter the course of the whole recipe.
- Salt
- Chilli Powder
- Ground Coriander
- Ground Cumin
- Garam Masala
Feel free to add fenugreek, curry powder or onion powder if you’d like to add more flavour - experiment with it!
How To Make Homemade Chicken Pakora
Add sieved gram flour to a bowl with cornflour (if using), garlic and ginger puree, spices, salt, lemon juice and red food colouring.
Whisk through water until you have a double cream consistency. Add chicken breast fillets (cut into mini strips).
Deep fry in oil heated to 180C (355F) for 3-4 minutes. Serve with pakora sauce.
FAQs
No. The batter is too runny and will not set in time (like it does hitting the hot oil), so I would avoid trying this.
As is the case with lots of indian-style cooking, don’t worry too much if you don’t have one specific spice. Missing one ingredient will not alter the course of the whole recipe. The joy of cooking is getting to experiment so either substitute it or leave it out.
Storage and Re-Heating Chicken Pakora
Storage - Fridge: 3 - 4 days.
Storage - Freezer: chicken pakora can be frozen (cooked) for 4 months.
Reheating: in the oven or airfryer (my preferred option) until piping hot throughout.
Other Indian Fakeaway Items You Could Make...
If you like this recipe and are looking for more Indian Takeaway recipes, then why not try my:
- Spiced Onions
- Vegetable Bhajis
- Pink Pakora Sauce or Red Pakora Sauce
- Chicken Chasni or South Indian Garlic Chilli
If you have any questions, or want to tell me what you think of my recipe, then leave a comment below!
Chicken Pakora (with Pink Pakora Sauce)
Ingredients
Chicken Pakora
- vegetable oil for frying
- 500 g chicken breast approx. 2 breasts
- 100 g gram flour sieved
- 2 tablespoon cornflour cornstarch - optional to make extra crispy
- 110 ml water
- 2 teaspoon ginger paste
- 2 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon red food colouring optional
- 1 teaspoon curry leaves optional
Pakora Sauce
- 4 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon mint sauce
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoon double cream
Instructions
Chicken Pakora
- Start to heat vegetable oil in a deep pot until it reaches 180C / 355F - See Notes
- Chop 500 g chicken breast into mini-fillet strips
- Sieve 100 g gram flour, then add 2 tablespoon cornflour (if using), 2 teaspoon ginger paste, 2 teaspoon garlic paste, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric , 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon red food colouring and 1 teaspoon curry leaves (if using) before whisking through with 110 ml water to make a batter
- Mix chicken fillets through the batter then deep fry in hot oil (ideally in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan - See Notes)
Pakora Sauce
- Mix together: 4 tablespoon tomato ketchup, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon mint sauce, ¼ teaspoon chilli powder, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoon water, 3 tablespoon double cream
- Serve chicken pakora whilst it's hot and dip into your homemade pakora sauce.
Helen McDowall says
Absolutely banging. My family beg me to make it for them. It’s so easy and super tasty. The pakora sauce is also a winner. Thank you ☺️
Marie says
Made the chicken pakora today, it was banging, so easy to follow thanks to Lauren breaking down each step, very pleased with results, great recipes from Lauren
Aimie says
Made these a few times and they are delicious!