This crispy Zucchini Pakoda recipe is an Indian-style Zucchini Fritter that is crispy, healthy, and easy to make. Enjoy these pakoras hot alongside a hot cup of masala chai.
Pakodas are a popular street food and tea-time snack in India, prepared especially during the monsoon season. There are many variations, from traditional onion pakodas to cabbage pakoda, corn pakoda, potato bajji, or spinach corn pakoda. They are typically enjoyed with green chutney and a hot cup of ginger chai.
Today, I am sharing a very unique and healthy pakoda recipe using zucchini. These Indian-style zucchini fritters can be deep-fried, baked, or air-fried. To ensure crispiness, avoid adding extra water to the batter, as zucchini naturally releases moisture. You might also enjoy my zucchini bajji recipe.
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Zucchini Pakora Ingredients
- Zucchini - I like to use fresh, tender green zucchini.
- Besan Flour (Gram Flour) - is a gluten-free flour primarily used as a binding agent. If you can't find besan, you can substitute it with chickpea flour.
- Rice Flour - is added to make the pakoras crispy. You can easily find it in Indian grocery stores. If you can't find it, replace it with cornstarch or you can skip it.
- Green Chili - I have used 2 green chilies for the heat.
- Ginger - is added for the flavor, so don't skip it.
- Fresh Herbs - I like to use coriander leaves as they give a wonderful flavor. You can also add some chopped curry leaves and mint leaves.
- Spices & Seasoning - Adding spices like cumin seeds, turmeric, and garam masala can elevate the flavors of pakodas.
How to Make Zucchini Pakoda (Zucchini Fritters)
Grate 1 medium zucchini along with its skin, then squeeze out any excess water from it. This water can be used in curries or soups for added flavor.
You'll get approximately 1 cup of shredded zucchini from 1 medium-sized zucchini.
Add the ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 2 green chilies finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala (or chaat masala)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
- salt to taste
Gently mix everything well.
Note: You can also add some chopped onions to this mixture for added flavor.
The zucchini would have released some more moisture. Furthermore, add 3-4 tablespoons besan (gram flour) and 1 tablespoon rice flour to the mixture and mix well until it reaches a stiff consistency. Be careful not to make the batter too runny.
Note: Do not add any extra water. The moisture from the zucchini will help bind all the ingredients together. If the batter is still thick, drizzle some water and mix again.
If the batter is too runny, add an extra one to two tablespoons of besan (or chickpea flour), to thicken it slightly.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, take small portions of the zucchini batter using your fingers or a spoon and carefully drop them into the hot oil.
Fry them till they are golden brown in color and crisp, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking.
Once done, remove the fried pakoras using a slotted spoon and drain excess oil on a paper towel-lined plate.
Sprinkle some chaat masala on top and serve zucchini (courgette) pakoda with ketchup and masala tea.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy these zucchini pakoras piping hot with a side of coriander mint chutney or tomato ketchup, with a steaming cup of masala chai.
Expert Tips
- Since zucchini has a high water content, Do not let the zucchini pakora batter sit for a too long after preparation. Fry it right away. The batter can become runny and affect the texture and flavor of the pakodas.
- Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter gets soggy.
- If you don't have rice flour at home, substitute it with the same amount of cornstarch or fine semolina (sooji), or you can totally skip it.
- Make sure to fry the pakoda on medium-high heat to get crispiness.
Variations
- You can add other vegetables like onions, potatoes, cabbage, sweet corn, and chopped spinach or kale.
- Dont have cumin seeds? no problem, replace it with ajwain (carrom seeds). Ajwain enhances the flavor of the dish and also helps to aid digestion.
- If you don't have garam masala, then replace it with chaat masala.
Zucchini Pakoda
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini shredded, (about 1 cup)
- 3-4 tablespoons besan (gram flour) (or chickpea flour)
- 1 tablespoon rice flour for crispness
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 2 green chilies finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala (or chaat masala)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
- salt to taste
- oil for frying
- 1 pinch chaat masala to sprinkle
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini along with its skin, then squeeze out any excess water from it. This water can be used in curries or soups for added flavor.You'll get approximately 1 cup of shredded zucchini from 1 medium-sized zucchini.
- Add all ingredients except rice flour and besan to a large mixing bowl. Mix everything well gently.
- The zucchini would have released some more moisture. Furthermore, add besan and rice flour to the mixture and mix well until it reaches a stiff consistency. Be careful not to make the batter too runny.Note: Do not add any extra water. The moisture from the zucchini will help bind all the ingredients together. If the batter is still thick, drizzle some water and mix again.If the batter is too runny, add an extra one to two tablespoons of besan (or chickpea flour), to thicken it slightly.
- Do not add any extra water. The moisture from the zucchini will help bind all the ingredients together. If the batter is still thick, drizzle some water and mix again.Note: Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter is soggy but also keep in mind not to make very thick pakoda batter.
- Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, take small portions of the zucchini batter using your fingers or a spoon and carefully drop them into the hot oil.
- Fry them till they are golden brown in color and crisp, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking.Once done, remove the fried pakoras using a slotted spoon and drain excess oil on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve Zucchini (Courgette) pakoda with ketchup and masala tea.
Notes
Tips
- Since zucchini has a high water content, Do not let the zucchini pakora batter sit for a too long after preparation. Fry it right away. The batter can become runny and affect the texture and flavor of the pakodas.
- Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter gets soggy.
- If you don't have rice flour at home, substitute it with the same amount of cornstarch or fine semolina (sooji), or you can totally skip it.
- Make sure to fry the pakoda on medium-high heat to get crispiness.
Variations
- You can add other vegetables like onions, potatoes, cabbage, sweet corn, and chopped spinach or kale.
- Dont have cumin seeds? no problem, replace it with ajwain (carrom seeds). Ajwain enhances the flavor of the dish and also helps to aid digestion.
- If you don't have garam masala, then replace it with chaat masala.
Nutrition
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Lani D
Great recipe. Easy to make. My first batch was a little dense so I added a squeeze of lime juice and a couple of pinches of bicarbonate soda for a bit of fluffiness. No need to buy pakora anymore, thanks to this recipe!
Bhavana Patil
Hi Lani, Thank you for letting me know. Adding a pinch of soda always helps. You can also aadd some onions along with shredded zucchini tastes so good.
Susan
These were tasty! I doubled the batch. I found the batter thin even though I wrung out the zucchini and added more besan. I was going to try the air fryer but the batter was a little thicker than pancake batter so I fried them instead. I would love to hear if someone does them in the air fryer.
Bhavana Patil
Hi Susan, I haven't tried making an air fryer, I will soon try and post the details in the blog.
Yeah removing excess water from zucchini is very important while making bajjis
Matt B.
These are delicious and very easy! Thank you for publishing it. For your nutrition calculations, did you aunt any level of oil absorption?
Bhavana Patil
Hi Matt, They dont absorb a lot of oil. Just make sure to squeeze out the water from the shredded zucchini, that will yield nice crispy pakodas.
Matt B.
Thank you! I want to add that this is the only way my wife will eat zucchini. She says that it tastes just like the food she has eaten on her many trips to Delhi. She loves these little bites that remind her of India.
Bhavana Patil
Hi Matt, I am so glad that this recipe reminded her of Indian food in Delhi. Thank you so much for sharing.. I have couple of indian zucchini recipes on my blog, do check if you get a chance.
Debbie G
Hi Bhavana:
Thank you for sharing your recipe. You had mentioned it could be air fried rather than deep fried. Can you just place the zucchini pagoda in an airfryer instead of the deep fryer for a healthier alternative? Thank you.
Bhavana Patil
Hi Debbie, I personally have not tried in the air fryer, I am sure it will work well. Once I experiment, will let you know.
bohofrann
Delicious, and makes a nice change from onion bhaji !
Bhavana Patil
Yes Absolutely, Thanks for sharing your Feedback
Sushma bharadwaj
Very good and tasty recipe . Tried and every one liked it😊😁👍🏻
bhavana
Thank you Sushma 🙂
Linda-Claire Steager
This looks really good. I think I'll try it for lunch. Much better than plain old zucchini fritters.
bhavana
Great to hear that Linda, hope your taste buds get super excited & crave for more & more ?