Chicken Pakora (Chicken Pakoda) is a popular Indian deep-fried appetizer that is delicious to eat, especially in winters and monsoons. I have a trick to make the crispiest chicken pakora in under 20 minutes using simple ingredients (gluten-free).
Here are some more pakora recipes that you can make at home – Chawal Ke Pakode, Moong Dal Pakoda, Corn Pakoda, Palak Pakoda, and Punjabi Bread Pakora.
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About This Recipe
Chicken Pakora (Chicken Pakoda) is a popular Indian snack where boneless chicken pieces are marinated with spices, ginger garlic paste, and lime juice and then coated with a mixture of chickpea flour, rice flour, cornstarch, and egg. These pakoras are then deep-fried in the oil until they turn golden brown or crispy from the outside.
My recipe makes the crispiest chicken pakora as I double fry them. The first frying is to cook the chicken and remove all the moisture from the outer surface and the second frying makes them very crispy from the outside yet juicy from the inside.
This gluten-free chicken pakora recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Just make sure to fry the pakoras in batches.
Ingredients
Chicken: This is the star ingredient of this dish. Use skinless boneless chicken. I have used chicken breast but you can use thighs too.
For Marination
To marinate the chicken, you will need a few spice powders like Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, and black pepper powder. You will also need ginger garlic paste, salt, and lime juice.
For The Coating
To coat the marinated chicken, you will need chickpea flour (besan flour, gram flour), rice flour, cornstarch (corn flour), and egg white. This mixture will make the outer layer of the pakoras crunchy and crispy.
Oil – You can use any vegetable oil of your choice to fry the chicken fritters.
Others – You will also need chaat masala, green chillies, and curry leaves. These ingredients are added at the end to enhance the flavor of the chicken pakoda recipe.
How To Make Chicken Pakora
Marinate The Chicken
Wash 250 g (8oz) boneless chicken breast and pat them dry using a kitchen tissue.
Cut them into ½-inch cubes using a sharp knife.
Add chicken cubes, 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder, 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon lime juice to a medium-size mixing bowl and mix everything well.
Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for 1 hour for the chicken to marinate.
Coat The Chicken
Take out the bowl from the refrigerator and add 2 tablespoon chickpea flour, 1 tablespoon rice flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 egg white and mix well.
Fry The Chicken Pakora
Heat 3-4 cups of vegetable oil for frying in a pan over medium-high heat.
Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium.
Drop half of the chicken pieces one by one in the hot oil and fry until slightly browned and cooked from the inside (6-8 minutes).
Keep stirring while frying so that they fry evenly from all sides.
Drain on a plate lined with kitchen tissue.
Fry the other half of the chicken pieces similarly.
Double Fry The Chicken Pakora
Now increase the heat to high and heat the oil until it is very hot.
Drop pakoras in small batches (2-3 batches) in the hot oil and fry on high heat until they are crispy and golden brown.
Drain on a plate lined with kitchen tissue.
Serve The Pakoda
Add 15-20 curry leaves to a metal mesh strainer and fry in hot oil until crispy. Drain on the plate with the chicken.
Similarly, fry 2-3 green chilies (slit into half) for a few seconds.
Immediately sprinkle 1 teaspoon chaat masala over the pakora and toss well.
Serve hot with coriander mint chutney or ketchup.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t want to deep fry the pakoras and want to make them healthier, you can simply air fry them.
Marinate the chicken and coat it with the coating ingredients
Now, place an aluminum foil in the air fryer and grease it with oil. Make sure to leave some space on the sides for the air to flow.
Place the pakoras on the foil in a single layer and spray with some oil from the top.
Air fry the pakoras for about 15 to 20 minutes at 400 F (200 C).
Shake the pakoras and air fry for another 6-8 minutes or until they are crispy. Serve your air fryer chicken pakoda with green chutney.
Marinate the chicken for at least an hour so that it soaks the flavor well. If you wish, you can keep it for up to 12 hours.
Yes, all the three flours used to make these pakoras i.e cornstarch, rice flour, and chickpea flour are gluten-free, making the pakoras gluten-free too.
You cannot make the chicken pakoras ahead of time, as they will lose their crunchiness and becomes soft.
If you are making it for a large crowd, marinate the chicken, coat it with the coating ingredients and freeze.
Before frying, let the chicken come to room temperature.
Another trick is to fry the chicken pakora once. Do the second frying when ready to serve. It will make your process quick and you can have hot crispy pakoras for the crowd in no time.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve chicken pakora for evening snacks with coriander mint chutney or sweet tamarind chutney, but you can serve it with any dip of your choice.
Some of my other favorite dips are sweet chilli sauce, green goddess mayonnaise, plain mayonnaise, and tomato ketchup.
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Recipe Card
Crispy Chicken Pakora Recipe (Chicken Pakoda)
Ingredients
To Marinate The Chicken
- 8 ounces boneless chicken breast (250 g)
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
To Coat The Chicken
- 2 tablespoons chickpeas flour (besan)
- 1 tablespoon rice flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 egg white
To Fry
- 3-4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
- 2-3 green chilies (slit into half)
- 15-20 whole curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Wash chicken breasts and pat them dry using a kitchen tissue.
- Cut them into ½-inch cubes using a sharp knife.
- Add chicken cubes, chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, salt, and lime juice to a medium-size mixing bowl and mix everything well.
- Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for 1 hour for the chicken to marinate.
Coat The Chicken
- Take out the bowl from the refrigerator and add chickpea flour, rice flour, cornstarch, and egg white and mix well.
Fry The Chicken Pakora
- Heat vegetable oil for frying in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium.
- Drop half of the chicken pieces one by one in the hot oil and fry until slightly browned and cooked from the inside (6-8 minutes).
- Keep stirring while frying so that they fry evenly from all sides.
- Drain on a plate lined with kitchen tissue.
- Fry the other half of the chicken pieces similarly.
Double Fry The Chicken Pakora
- Now increase the heat to high and heat the oil until it is very hot.
- Drop pakoras in small batches (2-3 batches) in the hot oil and fry on high heat until they are crispy and golden brown.
- Drain on a plate lined with kitchen tissue.
Serve The Pakoda
- Add curry leaves to a metal mesh strainer and fry in hot oil until crispy. Drain on the plate with the chicken.
- Similarly, fry green chilies for a few seconds.
- Immediately sprinkle chaat masala over the pakora and toss well.
- Serve hot with coriander mint chutney or ketchup.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!