Chicken Pakora is a popular Indian chicken fritter made with chicken, gram flour batter, spices, and herbs. These crispy chicken pakoras are made without eggs, ready within 30 minutes, and are naturally gluten-free. I'm sharing my tried-and-tested tips to make the pakora batter extra crispy just like restaurants.
I often make these crispy chicken pakora during rainy evenings or when we want a quick chicken snack with tea. The pakoras turn crispy outside, juicy inside, with a hint of tandoori flavor. They are perfect as a quick snack, appetizer, or party starter.
This easy homemade chicken pakora tastes similar to restaurant-style chicken pakora and uses simple pantry ingredients. If you like this chicken starter recipe, you may also like my spicy, crispy homemade popcorn chicken or restaurant-style chilli chicken.
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What is Chicken Pakora?
Pakora means “fritters”. Chicken pakora is a popular Indian starter made by coating boneless chicken pieces in a spiced gram flour batter and deep-frying until crispy.
You can find it at many Indian restaurants and street stalls. You can serve these crispy chicken fritters with your favorite dips like green chutney or sauce.
The recipe differs in many regions across India. It is made with slight variations in the basic ingredients. You can make Andhra-style, Punjabi-style, or Hyderabadi-style chicken pakora. But the basic cooking process and ingredients are the same.
Quick Look: Chicken Pakora Recipe
- ⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes (+ marination time)
- 🍳 Cook Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Calories: ~384 kcal per serving
- 🍗 Key Ingredients: Boneless chicken, besan (gram flour), rice flour, curd, ginger-garlic paste, tandoori masala, spices
- ♨ Cook Method: Marinate chicken → coat with flour mixture → rest batter → deep fry until crispy
- 🌶 Spice Level: Medium (adjustable)
- 😋 Flavor Profile: Crispy, spicy, mildly smoky with tandoori flavor
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy, perfect for tea-time snacks or parties
Why you'll love this recipe
- Super crispy texture: I add rice flour and a little hot oil to the batter for crisp pakoras.
- Delicious tandoori flavor: A little tandoori masala adds extra flavor and gives these pakoras a restaurant-style taste.
- Juicy chicken inside: Marinating with curd/yogurt prevents dry chicken.
- Egg-free and gluten-free: Made without eggs and naturally gluten-free.
- Easy pantry ingredients: Adjust the spice level or use ingredients you already have at home.
Chicken Pakora Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken: I prefer boneless chicken breast for pakoras as it is always available in my kitchen pantry. You can also use boneless chicken thighs for juicier pakoras.
- Flavoring & spices: Ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, black pepper, and chili powder add flavor. I use both Kashmiri chili powder for color and spicy chili powder for heat.
- Baking soda: I add a little baking soda for slightly lighter and crispier pakoras. You can skip it if preferred.
- Tandoori masala powder: This is my special touch that gives the pakoras a delicious tandoori flavor. You can substitute it with garam masala or chicken masala powder.
- Curd/Yogurt: Use thick curd or hung curd so the batter stays thick and coats the chicken well. You can substitute it with egg white if preferred.
- Flours: Besan (gram flour) and rice flour help create a crispy coating. I recommend not skipping rice flour if you want crispy street-style boneless chicken pakoras.
- Herbs: Fresh coriander and curry leaves add fresh flavor and aroma. Curry leaves are optional, but taste great.
- Oil: Any neutral oil, like sunflower or vegetable oil, works well for frying.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for full ingredients, quantities, and a printable version.
How to make chicken pakora (step-by-step photos)
Step 1: Pat the chicken dry with a clean kitchen tissue and cut it into even bite-sized pieces. I always cut them into a similar size so they fry evenly.
Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Mix the chicken with all the ingredients listed under marinate the chicken in the recipe card. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for juicy and flavorful pakoras.
Step 3: Add besan, rice flour, vinegar, and 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed. Mix well to make a thick coating. If needed, add 1 more tablespoon of water, but do not make it runny, or the pakoras won't turn crispy.
Step 4: Add 2 tablespoons of oil and mix well. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes for a better coating.
Step 5: Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Fry the chicken in small batches and avoid overcrowding the pan.
Step 6: Do not stir immediately. Let the chicken fry for a minute, then gently stir and fry until golden and crispy. Sprinkle some chaat masala on top and serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.
Tips to make crispy chicken pakora
- Pat the chicken dry: I always dab the chicken dry with a clean kitchen tissue so the coating sticks better and the pakoras turn crispy.
- Do not skip rice flour: Rice flour helps make the pakoras extra crispy. Keep the batter thick.
- Add water little by little: If the pakora batter turns runny, mix in a little more rice flour.
- Fry in medium hot oil: If the oil is too hot, the pakoras brown quickly outside but stay uncooked inside.
- Right oil temperature: To check the oil, drop a little batter in it. If it rises quickly without browning fast, the oil is ready.
- The addition of either curd or egg white is important. They keep the chicken juicy inside after frying them.
- You can substitute curd with egg white in the same quantity. So, if the recipe says 2 tablespoon of curd, then replace it with 2 tablespoon of egg white.
Recipe FAQs
The addition of rice flour along with gram flour (besan) helps make the pakoras crispy. You can substitute rice flour with cornstarch (or cornflour).
You can use any oil that has a neutral flavor and a high smoking point.
Pakoras may turn oily if the oil is not hot enough or the batter is too thin. Fry them in medium-hot oil and test it by dropping a little pakora batter into the oil. If it rises quickly without browning too fast, the oil is ready for frying.
No, these pakoras taste best when served immediately. It won't remain crispy after some time. You can make the pakora batter ahead, but fry fresh for crispy street-style pakoras.
No, this crispy chicken pakora recipe is gluten-free. It is made with besan (gram flour or chickpea flour) and rice flour, both of which are naturally gluten-free. Always check packaged spice blends if you have gluten sensitivity.
How to serve
Serve chicken pakora hot with onion slices and lemon wedges on the side. For street-style chicken pakora flavor, I like to serve it with fried green chilies and a sprinkle of chaat masala on top.
Pair it with green chutney, mint yogurt dip, ketchup, or your favorite sauce. It also tastes great with a hot cup of tea on rainy evenings.
Recipe Card
Easy Chicken Pakora Recipe (without eggs)
Video
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Deep bottom pan/Wok
Ingredients
Marinate the chicken
- 300 gram chicken boneless, cut into small bite-size pieces
- salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon spicy red chili powder (add as per taste)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon tandoori masala powder (substitue with garam masala powder)
- 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped curry leaves (optional)
- 2 tablespoon thick curd/yogurt (substitute with 2 tablespoon of egg white)
Other ingredients
- 4 tablespoon Besan gram flour or chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoon rice flour (substitute cornstarch/cornflour)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (substitute lemon juice)
- 2 tablespoon oil (for mixing into batter)
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Prep the chicken: Pat the chicken dry with a clean kitchen tissue and cut it into even bite-sized pieces. I always cut them into a similar size so they fry evenly.300 gram chicken
- Marinate the chicken: Mix the chicken with all the ingredients listed under "marinate" the chicken in the recipe card. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for juicy and flavorful pakoras.salt to taste, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, ½ teaspoon spicy red chili powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon tandoori masala powder, 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves, 1 tablespoon chopped curry leaves, 2 tablespoon thick curd/yogurt
- Make the pakora mixture: Add besan, rice flour, vinegar, and 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed. Mix well to make a thick coating. If needed, add 1 more tablespoon of water, but do not make it runny, or the pakoras won't turn crispy.4 tablespoon Besan, 2 tablespoon rice flour, 1 teaspoon vinegar
- Rest the batter: Add 2 tablespoons of oil and mix well. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes for a better coating.
- Fry the pakoras: Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Fry in small batches and avoid overcrowding the pan so the pakoras turn crispy.
- Cook until crispy: Do not stir immediately. Let the chicken fry for a minute, then gently stir and fry until golden and crispy. I fry them on medium heat so the chicken cooks well inside, too.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala on top and serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.
Notes
- Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours or overnight for juicy and flavorful pakoras.
- The addition of rice flour is important to make the pakoda crispy.
- Make a thick pakora mixture using less water. If the pakora mixture is thin or runny, the pakoras will not be crispy.
- If the pakora batter is thin or runny, then add some more rice flour to it.
- The addition of either curd or egg white is important. They keep the chicken juicy inside after frying.
- The temperature of the oil to fry pakoras should be perfect. It should not be too hot or cold. To check, drop some batter in hot oil. If it rises quickly without browning too fast, the oil is ready.
- Fry the pakoras in medium-hot oil. If the oil is very hot, then it will get fried quickly outside but will remain uncooked inside.
- Add some chopped green chilies to make it spicy. I have skipped this step for kids.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
philomela arias
YUMMY AND DELICIOUS
Preeti
Thanks
Shreya
Nice