Description:
Chicken Pakora, also known as Chicken Pakora, is a popular Indian snack made by coating boneless chicken pieces in a mixture of chickpea flour, rice flour, cornstarch, and egg. The chicken is marinated in spices, ginger garlic paste, and lime juice. After that, the pakoras are deep-fried in the oil until the outside is golden brown or crispy.
As I double fry them, my recipe yields the crispiest chicken pakora. The chicken is cooked in the first frying step to dry it out, and the second frying step makes the chicken crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
Double or triple this gluten-free chicken pakora recipe in no time. Pakoras should only be fried in batches.
Ingredients
- 2x 7oz/200g Chicken Breasts
- 4 cups / 1litre Oil
- 1 cup / 250ml Buttermilk
- 1 packed cup / 200g Plain Flour (scoop & level method)
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (see notes)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Onion Powder
- 3/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 3/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
Instructions :
- Slice your chicken breasts into mini even-sized bite-size pieces. You should get around 40-50 pieces in total.
- Combine in a bowl with your Buttermilk, 1 tsp of Salt and 1/2 tsp Black Pepper. Pop cling film over and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Preferably overnight. This will help tenderise the chicken pieces.
- In a bowl, combine your Flour, Baking Powder, 2nd tsp of Salt, Smoked Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Oregano and 1/4 tsp Black Pepper.
- Take a piece of Chicken and coat it with the flour mixture. Really try and get as much flour in the cracks of the chicken. You want the chicken to be nice and flakey. This is important. Although it sounds tedious to do it one by one, this is the best way to get the best coating on the chicken. No more than 3-4 at a time max.
- Heat up 4 cups of oil, depending on the depth of the pan. You want the temp at around 180C/356F. Grab a tiny piece of leftover flour mixture and drop it in. If it sizzles and slowly rises to the top, you’re good to go.
- In batches, add the chicken and fry for around 3-5 mins until golden brown. Place on a wire rack over paper towels to drain away excess fat. To test if they’re cooked, just take one piece out and slice it through the centre. It should be white and piping hot. If you’re not confident with deep frying just test with one piece at the start.
- Repeat with the rest of your batches, bringing the oil back up to temp between each batch, then serve with your favourite dip!