Forget the Takeaway, try my Easy Crispy Chicken Pakora

Crispy Chicken Pakora are popular ether as part of a meal, or just on their own. And ideal if you are having friends over or just having a quite night in. Packed with flavour but easy to make.

We will also show you how to make a cheats pakora dip with ingredients you already have at home. I have often heard this referred to as red dip, or Glasgow dip. I guess this might be due to the popularity of a pakora as a snack after a late Saturday night out.

Its all down to the batter.

The key to a good pakora is the batter. Don’t use wheat flour, it’s just not up to the job. Gram flour, also known as besan (chickpea flour) is the only one to use. It gives the right consistency and flavour to the pakora, and as a bonus, its gluten free. Adding a little cornflour to the mix produces a crisper batter.

The same batter can be used for other pakora. I’ll show you how to make, other options like vegetable, potato, prawn, and cauliflower in a post later.

A note on deep fat frying.

In the past frying in deep oil has fallen out of vouge due to health concerns. However, its often the only way to produce a specific result. British fish and chips been an example. Our main concern is the safety aspect of doing this at home. The problem with ‘chip-pan’ fires is well documented. This can be avoided with some simple rules.

Never leave a pan unattended on the heat. If your oil becomes overheated, it can spontaneously burst into flames. If this was to happen turn off the heat and cover the pan with a fire blanket of damp, not wet cloth. Leave the pan to cool completely and don’t be tempted to lift the cloth for a peep. Air can make the oil re-ignite.

If possible, use a dedicated electric deep fat fryer. These have cut outs to avoid the above happening. If this is not possible a wok if the best option. When food is added to the oil it will bubble and expand with steam. Saucepans let the oil rise in the pan and may spill it over the top of the pan. A wok on the other hand allows the oil to expand sideways as well. This is much less likely to spill over and cause a fire.

Don’t have any flammable materials close to the pan when cooking.

And Never fill your pan more than one third full of oil

You, will need.

• A wide deep pan suitable for deep frying, a wok is ideal.
• A bowl to make the batter
• Medium bowl for the chicken
• Small bowl for the dip
• Kitchen ‘spider’ or large perforated spoon
• Scales
• Measuring jug
• Measuring spoons
• A tray with kitchen paper to drain the cooked pakora
• Kitchen probe thermometer

Crispy Chicken Pakora – The Basic Batter.

Serves two as a main or four as a side dish.

• 1tsp salt
• 110g                           chickpea flour
• 25g                             cornflour
• 1tsp                            ginger-garlic paste
• ½ tsp                          ground turmeric
• ½ tsp                          Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tbsp                         chopped coriander
• 1 tsp                           dried mango powder
• ½ tsp                          bicarbonate of soda
• 120-140ml                 cold water
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

• The chicken filling.
• 300g                           diced chicken breast
• 1                                  small egg white
• 2-3 tbsp                      chickpea flour
• 1/4tsp                         Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp                          garam masala

To serve

• Red dip
• Red onion rings
• Coriander
• Lime wedges

Making the dip.

Makes 100ml of dip.

• 50ml                           natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp                         tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp                         ready-made, mint sauce
• ½ tsp                          Kashmiri chilli powder
• ¼ tsp                         salt

Our first job is to make up the dip for the pakora. Measure all the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together, and he-presto you have a dip. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until you are ready to start cooking the pakora. This will give time for the flavours to develop.

Crispy Chicken Pakora – making the batter.

Take a bowl and mix the flour, garlic paste, salt, pepper, chillies, coriander, and mango powder, in a little water, to form a smooth paste. Put the batter to one side and leave to rest for half an hour to rest and let the starch expand.

When needed, take the batter and add enough water to make a thick cream consistency (when lifted in a spoon and dropped, it should fall in a continuous smooth stream). 

Crispy Chicken Pakora – the chicken.

If you haven’t already done so dry off the chicken and cut into dice 3cm in size. Don’t make the pieces too large or you may have difficulty insuring they are cooked though. To enable the batter to stick to the moist meat its best to pre-coat the chicken before adding into the batter.

Place the chicken pieces into a bowl and add the egg white. Using a gloved hand massage the egg white into the chicken. Add the spices and gram flour and mix together to coat the diced pieces.

Add the coated chicken to the basic batter and you’re ready to start cooking.

Crispy Chicken Pakora – cooking the pakora.

Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or wok to 175˚c or until a drop of batter dropped in comes up to the surface at once. 

Using a spoon and lower the chicken pieces into the hot oil. Don’t drop them in from a hight in case the oil spits out and causes a burn.

You will need to cook the chicken in two batches. As each batch is ready lift them out with a spider on to absorbent paper to drain and keep aside. Then should take roughly 4 minutes to cook but use a probe thermometer to check the doneness. The centre of the meat must reach 75˚c to insure it’s cooked through.

Crispy Chicken Pakora – serving.

When ready to serve, heat the oil again to 180˚and dip the pakora though the oil to crisp them up. 

Remove from oil, drain on an absorbent paper, and serve with some coriander, red onions, lime and of course the dip on the side.

F.A.Qs.

Enjoy life!

John.

©John Webber2025