Crispy Chicken Pakora (Chicken Pakoda) (2024)

Chicken Pakora (Chicken Pakoda) is a popular Indian deep-fried appetizer that is delicious to eat, especially in winter and monsoons. I have a trick to make the crispiest chicken pakoda in under 20 minutes using simple ingredients (gluten-free).

About Chicken Pakora

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 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 cooks the chicken and removes all the moisture from the outer surface, and the second frying makes them very crispy on the outside yet juicy on the inside.

This gluten-free chicken pakora recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Just make sure to fry the pakoras in batches.

You can make some more pakora recipes at home

• Chawal Ke Pakode
• Moong Dal Pakoda
• Corn Pakoda
• Palak Pakoda
• Punjabi Bread Pakora
• Onion Pakoda
• Aloo Pakora
• Paneer Pakora
• Chicken Pakora

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 whites. This mixture will make the outer layer of the pakoras crunchy and crispy.

Oil – You can use any cooking oil with a high smoke point to fry these chicken fritters. Some options include canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc.

Others – You will also need chaat masala, green chilies, and curry leaves. These ingredients are added at the end to enhance the flavor of the chicken pakoda recipe.

Add some tandoori masala powder to chicken pakoda batter to make them even more flavorful.

How To Make Chicken Pakora

Marinate The Chicken

Wash 250 g (8 oz) 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
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

to a medium-sized 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
• 1 egg white

and mix well.

Fry Chicken Pakoda

Heat 3-4 cups of 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 into the hot oil and fry until slightly browned and cooked from the inside (6-8 minutes).

Stir frequently 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 Chicken Pakoda

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 pakora.

Similarly, fry 2-3 green chilies (slit into half) fora few seconds.

Immediately sprinkle 1 teaspoon chaat masala over chicken pakoda and toss well.

Serve hot with coriander mint chutney or ketchup.

Pro Tips By Neha

The temperature of the oil is critical to make crunchy pakoras. Let the oil temperature come back up before cooking the second batch.

Do not overload the pan while frying. If you overload the pan, the pakoras will not turn up crispy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve chicken pakoda for evening snacks with Green Chutney or Tamarind Chutney, but you can serve it with any dip of your choice.A cup of masala chai is highly recommended.

Some of my other favorite dips are Sweet Chilli Sauce, Green Goddess Mayonnaise, plain mayonnaise, and tomato ketchup.

You can also serve this crunchy chicken appetizer as a side dish with Indian meals.

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