Crispy Zucchini Pakoda recipe is Indian-style Zucchini Fritters that are crispy, healthy, and easy to make. An excellent variation for regular Onion Pakora. Serve this pakoda hot and enjoy it with a cup of hot masala chai.
These Indian-style zucchini fritters can be deep-fried, baked, or air-fried. To make it crispy, ensure you are not adding any extra water. Zucchini oozes out water. This water is enough to moisten the besan/chickpea flour.
Also, remember not to make a thick batter like other pakoda recipes. Also, I have added some rice flour which helps to make it crispy.
Ingredients for Zucchini Pakora Recipe
- Zucchini - 1 medium-sized zucchini, shredded (about 1 cup).
- 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 skip it.
- Green Chili - I have used 2 Thai green chilies for the heat. You can increase or decrease according to your preference.
- 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.
- Spices & Seasonings - You can enhance the flavors of pakodas using spices like cumin seeds, turmeric, and chaat masala.
How to Make Zucchini Pakoda (Zucchini Fritters)
Grate the zucchini with skin, and squeeze the excess water from the zucchini. You can use this water for curries or soups.
Add all ingredients except rice flour and besan to a large mixing bowl and mix everything well gently.
Zucchini would have released some more moisture. Furthermore, add besan, rice flour and mix well such that the mixture is stiff and not soggy.
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.
Keep the oil in a deep frying pan. Make sure the oil is hot for frying. Drop the mixture into oil in batches. Stir them occasionally.
Fry them till they are golden brown in color & crisp.
Serve Zucchini/Courgette pakoda recipe with masala tea and ketchup.
Serving Suggestion
Serve these zucchini pakodas hot with coriander mint chutney or tomato ketchup and a cup of Masala chai.
Tips & Variations
- Do not let the zucchini pakora batter sit for a long time. Fry it right away as Zucchini oozes out a lot of water.
- Make sure to fry the pakoda on medium-high heat to get crispiness.
- If you don't have rice flour at home, replace it with the same amount of cornstarch or semolina (sooji), or you can totally skip it.
- Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter is soggy.
- You can replace cumin (jeera) seeds with ajwain (carrom seeds). It will give a nice taste and also helps to aid digestion.
- You can also add some onions, corn, and chopped spinach for variation.
- If you don't have chaat masala, then you can replace it with garam masala.
More Pakoda Recipes
More Indian Zucchini Recipes
- Zucchini Curry
- Zucchini Stir Fry
- Zucchini Dal
- Zucchini Carrot Paratha
- Roasted Zucchini
- Zucchini Chutney
- Cream of Zucchini Soup
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Zucchini Pakoda
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini shredded, (about 1 cup)
- 3-4 tablespoons besan (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 chat masala powder (or garam masala)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
- salt to taste
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini with skin ,squeeze the excess water from zucchini.You can use this water for curries or soups.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients except rice flour and besan and mix everything well gently.
- Zucchini would have released some more moisture. Furthermore, add besan, rice flour and mix well such that the mixture is stiff and not soggy.
- 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.
- Keep the oil in a deep frying pan. Make sure the oil is hot for frying. Drop the mixture into oil in batches. Stir them occasionally.
- Fry them till they are golden brown in color & crisp.
- Serve zucchini pakoda with masala tea and ketchup.
Notes
Tips & Variations
- Do not let the zucchini pakora batter sit for a long time. Fry it right away as Zucchini oozes out a lot of water.
- Make sure to fry the pakoda on medium-high heat to get crispiness.
- If you don't have rice flour at home, replace it with the same amount of cornstarch or semolina (sooji), or you can totally skip it.
- Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter is soggy.
- You can replace cumin (jeera) seeds with ajwain (carrom seeds). It will give a nice taste and also helps to aid digestion.
- You can also add some onions, corn, and chopped spinach for variation.
- If you don't have chaat masala, then you can replace it with garam masala.
Nutrition
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Linda-Claire Steager says
This looks really good. I think I'll try it for lunch. Much better than plain old zucchini fritters.
bhavana says
Great to hear that Linda, hope your taste buds get super excited & crave for more & more ?
Sushma bharadwaj says
Very good and tasty recipe . Tried and every one liked it😊😁👍🏻
bhavana says
Thank you Sushma 🙂
bohofrann says
Delicious, and makes a nice change from onion bhaji !
Bhavana Patil says
Yes Absolutely, Thanks for sharing your Feedback
Debbie G says
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 says
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.
Matt B. says
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 says
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. says
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 says
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.
Susan says
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 says
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