Onion pakora
प्याज़ के पकौड़े
Sliced onion salted until it weeps, bound with gram flour, rice flour, chilli and ajwain in its own juice, and fried in loose, crisp clumps.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: प्याज़ के पकौड़े.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Medium heat
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Onion pakora, called kanda bhaji in Maharashtra, is thinly sliced onion fried in a light coat of gram flour. The trick is to use almost no water. Slice the onions, salt them and leave them ten minutes, and they give up enough juice to bind the flour on their own. A little rice flour makes the crust crisper, ajwain and green chilli season it, and the mix should be a rough, shaggy tangle rather than a smooth batter. Drop loose clumps into hot oil and fry until deep gold. Dense, round pakoras mean too much batter. Thin, lacy ones with brown edges are what you want.
What you'll need
12 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Onion, halved and sliced 3 mm thick3 medium
- Salt4.9 ml
- Chickpea flour, besan100 g
- Rice flour30 ml
- Ajwain, crushed between the palms2½ ml
- Fresh chilli, green, finely chopped2
- Ginger, grated4.9 ml
- Chilli powder2½ ml
- Turmeric1.2 ml
- Coriander, leaves and tender stems, chopped1 handful
- Water, only if needed (optional)30 ml
- Neutral oil, for deep-frying750 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Separate the sliced onion into strands in a bowl, toss with the salt and leave 10 minutes, until the onions are limp and wet.
10 min
Step 2
Add the chilli, ginger, coriander, ajwain, chilli powder and turmeric, then the gram flour and rice flour. Squeeze and toss with your hand until every strand is coated and the mix clumps when pressed. Add water a spoon at a time only if it stays dry and floury.
3 min
Tip: Mix just before frying. If it sits, the onions keep weeping and the batter turns heavy.
Step 3
Heat the oil in a wok to about 175°C, when a drop of batter sizzles and rises at once. Drop in small, loose clumps with your fingers, 6 to 8 at a time, and fry 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until deep golden and crisp.
15 min175°C
Watch: Do not crowd the wok. The oil cools, and the pakoras soak it up and go soft.
Step 4
Lift onto a rack, sprinkle with a little salt and serve hot with green chutney, ketchup or chai.
2 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 277 kcal
- Protein
- 6.9 g
- Carbs
- 25.1 g
- Fat
- 16.9 g
- Saturated fat
- 1.7 g
- Fibre
- 4.6 g
- Sugar
- 6.8 g
- Sodium
- 521 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Rice flour → Cornflour
Same amount. Very slightly less crisp.
Ajwain → Cumin seeds
A different flavour, still good. Use the same amount.
Tips
- For extra-crisp pakoras, fry them until just pale gold, rest five minutes, and fry again for a minute in hotter oil.
- Red onions work as well as white and give a slightly sweeter pakora.
History & culture
Pakoras are rain food. When the monsoon breaks over North and West India, home kitchens fry onion pakoras for tea and roadside stalls do their busiest trade of the year. They come with green chutney or ketchup and sweet milky chai, and they turn up on Ramadan iftar tables and at most parties.
The word is usually traced to a Sanskrit compound meaning a small cooked lump, and frying vegetables in chickpea flour batter is old across the subcontinent. The onion version is the cheapest and most common. In Britain it became the onion bhaji of curry houses, usually rounder and denser than the Indian original and served with mint yoghurt.
Traditional — Mumbai kanda bhaji usually skips the rice flour and carries more chilli. Punjabi stalls often mix onion with potato and spinach in the same batter. Some cooks stir a spoon of the hot frying oil into the mix instead of using baking soda for crispness.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Onion pakora take?
45 min all in — 15 min prep, 20 min cook, 10 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Medium heat.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What equipment do I need?
Chef's knife, Cutting board, Mixing bowl, Wok, Spider or strainer.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Rice flour → Cornflour. Same amount. Very slightly less crisp. Ajwain → Cumin seeds. A different flavour, still good. Use the same amount.
What should I watch for?
Do not crowd the wok. The oil cools, and the pakoras soak it up and go soft.
Any tips from this recipe?
For extra-crisp pakoras, fry them until just pale gold, rest five minutes, and fry again for a minute in hotter oil. Red onions work as well as white and give a slightly sweeter pakora.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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