Chicken Pakoras
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 700g boneless chicken, washed and drained
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • ½ tsp curry powder
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • ⅓ of a bunch of coriander
  • 1.5 large onions OR 2 small onions
  • 3 dried chillies OR 3 green chillies
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • ⅓ cup rice flour
  • ⅓ cup besan powder (gram/chickpea flour)
  • water as needed
Method
  1. Start by measuring all your dry spices; 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp curry powder, ½ tsp coriander powder and ½ tsp cumin powder. This makes it easier adding the ingredients later on when your hands are messy without soiling your clean jars.
  2. Peel and chop 1.5 large onions OR chop 2 small onions.
  3. Finely chop ⅓ of a bunch of coriander. Crush or blitz in a food processor 3 dried chillies, alternatively use fresh green chillies if you aren't able to get hold of dried ones.
  4. Dice your boneless chicken, keep the pieces fairly large as shown in the photo as this will help keep your chicken tender/moist on the inside. Place all the diced chicken into a large mixing bowl.
  5. Add 2 tbsp of cornflour and coat the chicken pieces using your hand.
  6. Add ⅓ cup of rice flour, followed by ⅓ cup of besan powder. I sift my besan powder as I find storage creates a lot of lumps in the flour.
  7. Add the crushed dried chillies, spices, onion and coriander.
  8. Mix the dry ingredients by hand. Add water a little at a time till you can feel all the ingredients have become moist and ever so slightly wet, you want to avoid adding too much water as the pakoras won't bind together otherwise.
  9. The bottom photo shows you what the finished pakora mixture should look like. The ingredients will look like they won't hold together when you fry them, but trust me when you drop them into the hot oil they hold together really well.
  10. Heat a deep pan with oil. Take a small amount of pakora mixture and when the oil is hot, carefully drop in. You'll need to press the ingredients together as you drop them into the oil but once they start frying they will become firm. Fry for about 10 minutes over a medium - high flame to ensure the centre of each pakora cooks through properly, turn the pakoras during frying to ensure even browning. I've shown you a close up of what the mixture looks like (bottom left photo) before frying. Drain the cooked pakoras on tissue paper.
  11. Serve your hot pakoras with a sweet chilli sauce or green chutney, be sure to eat one yourself before they disappear!
Recipe by www.afeliaskitchen.com at https://www.afeliaskitchen.com/chicken-pakoras/