Onion Pakora Recipe | How to make Onion Pakoras | Onion Fritters

onion pakoras recipe with step by step photos – onion fritters made with gram flour are a popular indian street food. it is one snack that is easy to prepare and tastes good too.

pakoras are usually served with some fried salted green chilies and a green chutney or sweet chutney. this whole combo is also served with the indian chai.

since onion pakoras are often made in my home, i have updated the old pics with new ones. this is how i make this recipe. we also make a different version and in marathi we call it kanda bhaji (wherekanda means onions & bhaji means fritters)

you can also bake the onion pakoras. i have never tried baking pakoras, but have seen some friends doing this. baked pakoras will taste differently than fried ones. but if you want to have a fried version, then just best to make that and enjoy the hot onion pakoras with a steaming cup of indian chai.

the onion pakoras also taste good with bread and can be sandwiched between bread slices and some chutneys.

if you are looking for more pakora recipes then do check palak pakora, bread pakora, punjabi kadhi pakora, bread pakoras with cheese and bread pakora with stuffed potato.

onion fritters or onion pakoras recipe below:

4.7 from 3 reviews

onion pakora recipe

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prep time

5 mins

cook time

25 mins

total time

30 mins

onion pakora recipe – onion fritters made with gram flour or besan.

author: dassana

recipe type: snacks

cuisine: indian

serves: 4

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 2 medium to large sized onions
• 1 cup gram flour or besan
• 1 to 2 green chilies or ½ tsp red chilli powder/lal mirch powder
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (optional)
• ½ tsp garam masala powder (optional)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi (optional)
• 1 tsp ajwain or carom seeds
• a generous pinch of asafoetida/hing (optional)
• oil for shallow frying or deep frying - sunflower oil or any neutral flavored oil
• water as required to make a medium thick batter
• salt as required

how to make the recipe:

1. slice the onions thinly and take them in a mixing bowl. also add chopped green chilies. if you do not have green chilies, then add red chili powder. you can also add chopped coriander leaves, if you want.
2. add the spices - carom seeds, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt.
3. mix everything well. cover and keep the onion, chilies and spice mixture aside for 15 to 20 mins.
4. the onions would release water and then you can add water as required in the batter.
5. add gram flour/besan.
6. add required amount of water to make medium thick batter.
7. stir the whole mixture very well with a spoon or with your hands. the onion pakora batter is ready to be fried.
8. in hot oil, add spoonfuls of the batter.
9. depending on the size of the kadai or pan, you can add less or more. just make sure you don't over crowd the pakoras while frying.
10. when the pakoras are a bit cooked, turn over with a slotted spoon and continue to fry.
11. you will have turn the pakoras few times for even frying.
12. fry the onion pakoras, till they look crisp and golden.
13. remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper towels for excess oil to be absorbed.
14. in the same oil fry slit green chilies.
15. sprinkle some salt on the green chilies and mix well.
16. serve onion pakoras or kandi bhaji with the fried green chilies or coriander chutney or tomato sauce.

notes

few tips for onion pakora recipe:
1. the onions have to be sliced thinly and not thickly as thin slices will get cooked faster than thick slices. if the slices are thick, then while frying the chick pea flour or besan gets cooked but the onion slices remain half cooked.
2. some cooks use a pinch of baking soda in the batter to add that extra fluffiness to the pakoras. I don't like the taste and flavor of baking soda, so I have not used it.
3. in the batter, you can also add 1 or 2 teaspoon of oil. this makes the onion pakoras crisp and it absorbs less oil while frying.
4. the temperature of the oil has to be correct while frying. the oil should not be too hot or cold. If it is hot, then the outside of the pakoras will get fried but the inside will be under cooked. if it is not hot, then the onion pakoras will absorb oil while frying and will be too oil-laden once fried.

lets start step by step onion pakora recipe:

1. slice the onions thinly and take them in a mixing bowl. also add chopped green chilies. if you do not have green chilies, then add red chili powder. you can also add chopped coriander leaves, if you want.

2. add the spices – carom seeds/ajwain, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt.

3. mix everything well. cover and keep the onion, chilies and spice mixture aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

4. the onions would release water and then you can add water as required in the batter.

5. add gram flour/besan.

6. add required amount of water to make medium thick batter.

7. stir the whole mixture very well with a spoon or with your hands. the onion pakora batter is ready to be fried. you can either shallow fry or deep fry.

8. in hot oil, add spoonfuls of the batter.

9. depending on the size of the kadai or pan, you can add less or more. just make sure you don’t over crowd the onion pakoras while frying.

10. when the pakoras are a bit cooked, turn over with a slotted spoon and continue to fry.

11. you will have turn the pakoras few times for even frying.

12. fry the onion pakoras, till they look crisp and golden.

13. remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper towels for excess oil to be absorbed.

14. in the same oil fry slit green chilies.

15. sprinkle some salt on the green chilies and mix well.

16. serve onion pakoras or kandi bhaji with the fried green chilies or coriander chutney or tomato sauce.

Video for easy to understand