Description
This homemade chicken pakora is every bit as good as you’ll find in a restaurant. Packed with amazing flavours, they work great as a starter or snack.
The default recipe makes 2 portions
Ingredients
Scale
- 100g / 3.5oz chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (you can also use boneless thigh pieces instead)
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp coriander ground
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- few pieces of fresh coriander, finely chopped, with a little reserved for garnish at the end.
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp veg oil (for the batter)
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp besan (gram flour)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (or enough to fill the pan around 1-2cm deep – for frying)
- 3–4 cashews, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Mix together the chicken, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, ground coriander and garam masala in a bowl. Add the chopped coriander, lemon juice and oil and season. Pop in the fridge for 1-2 hours to allow the flavours to infuse.
- Add the cornflour and besan to the chicken and mix together well. Add around 1 tbsp of water per 2 portions. Add it in a little at a time until you have a smooth but fairly thick batter.
- Heat the oil for frying in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. When hot drop in the chicken pieces. To check the temperature you can drop a little of the batter in to test. It should gently splutter when you add it in but not cook so quickly that it turns brown too fast. Add a few chicken pieces at a time to stop the pieces sticking together. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the chicken with a slotted metal spoon or strainer. Place on a plate covered with kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.
- When you’ve cooked all the chicken pieces then add the cashew nuts to the oil for around 30 seconds to crispen and brown a little.
- Serve with the cashew nuts scattered over and some extra chopped coriander. This is best served with a dipping sauce such as mango chutney, chilli sauce or this cucumber raita.
Notes
- Leftovers can be reheated in an oven at 200C/400F for 10 minutes, although these are at their best when served freshly made.
- You can get creative with the spices you use based on what you have in. Alternatives could include curry powder, cumin, turmeric or paprika.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour marinading)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Starter
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 305
- Fat: 18g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Protein: 19g
Keywords: indian, pakora, starter, snack, chicken, spices