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Home » Recipes » Appetizer & Snacks

Zucchini Pakoda (Indian Style Zucchini Fritters)

Dec 16, 2022. by Bhavana Patil. 14 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Jump to Recipe

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.

Zucchini Pakoda or zucchini fritters indian style served on a plate
Zucchini Pakoda

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.
Ingredients for Zucchini Pakoda Recipe

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.

step to grate the zucchini using a box grater collage

Add all ingredients except rice flour and besan to a large mixing bowl and mix everything well gently.

step to add the spices to the shredded zucchini collage

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.

step to add the besan flour to the mixture collage

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.

step to deep fry courgette pakoda collage

Serve Zucchini/Courgette pakoda recipe with masala tea and ketchup.

zucchini pakodas on a plate and one pakoda split into half

Serving Suggestion

Serve these zucchini pakodas hot with coriander mint chutney or tomato ketchup and a cup of Masala chai.

Tips & Variations

  1. Do not let the zucchini pakora batter sit for a long time. Fry it right away as Zucchini oozes out a lot of water.
  2. Make sure to fry the pakoda on medium-high heat to get crispiness.
  3. 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.
  4. Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter is soggy.
  5. You can replace cumin (jeera) seeds with ajwain (carrom seeds). It will give a nice taste and also helps to aid digestion.
  6. You can also add some onions, corn, and chopped spinach for variation.
  7. If you don't have chaat masala, then you can replace it with garam masala.

More Pakoda Recipes

  • Mix Vegetable Pakoda
  • Onion Pakoda
  • Spinach Corn Pakoda
  • Cabbage Pakoda
  • Corn Pakoda
  • Broccoli 65

More Indian Zucchini Recipes

  • Zucchini Curry
  • Zucchini Stir Fry
  • Zucchini Dal
  • Zucchini Carrot Paratha
  • Roasted Zucchini
  • Zucchini Chutney
  • Cream of Zucchini Soup

If you’ve tried this easy zucchini pakoda recipe or any other recipe on Indianveggiedelight, then don’t forget to rate the recipe. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see the latest recipes!

Tried this recipe?Don’t forget to give a ★ rating below
Crispy Zucchini Pakoda served on a brown plate

Zucchini Pakoda

Bhavana Patil
Crispy Zucchini Pakoda are Indian style Zucchini Fritters which are crispy, healthy and easy to make. An awesome variation for regular Onion Pakoda.
5 from 10 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings: 2
Calories : 90
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan
Method: Stovetop
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time : 10 minutes
Total Time : 20 minutes

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.
    step to add shredded zucchini and spices collage
  • 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.
    step to mix besan with squash collage
  • 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.
    step to deep fry fritters collage
  • Serve zucchini pakoda with masala tea and ketchup.
    zucchini pakodas on a plate and one pakoda split into half

Notes

Tips & Variations

  1. Do not let the zucchini pakora batter sit for a long time. Fry it right away as Zucchini oozes out a lot of water.
  2. Make sure to fry the pakoda on medium-high heat to get crispiness.
  3. 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.
  4. Add extra 1-2 tablespoons of besan if the batter is soggy.
  5. You can replace cumin (jeera) seeds with ajwain (carrom seeds). It will give a nice taste and also helps to aid digestion.
  6. You can also add some onions, corn, and chopped spinach for variation.
  7. If you don't have chaat masala, then you can replace it with garam masala.
 
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 90kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 166mgPotassium: 375mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 234IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
Keyword fritters, High Fiber, indianfood, vegan, zucchini recipes
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653 shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda-Claire Steager says

    September 29, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    This looks really good. I think I'll try it for lunch. Much better than plain old zucchini fritters.

    Reply
    • bhavana says

      September 30, 2020 at 1:59 am

      Great to hear that Linda, hope your taste buds get super excited & crave for more & more ?

      Reply
  2. Sushma bharadwaj says

    November 23, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    5 stars
    Very good and tasty recipe . Tried and every one liked it😊😁👍🏻

    Reply
    • bhavana says

      November 25, 2020 at 1:46 pm

      Thank you Sushma 🙂

      Reply
  3. bohofrann says

    August 17, 2021 at 4:17 am

    5 stars
    Delicious, and makes a nice change from onion bhaji !

    Reply
    • Bhavana Patil says

      August 17, 2021 at 9:31 am

      Yes Absolutely, Thanks for sharing your Feedback

      Reply
  4. Debbie G says

    December 03, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Bhavana Patil says

      December 04, 2021 at 9:38 am

      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.

      Reply
  5. Matt B. says

    September 13, 2022 at 2:17 pm

    5 stars
    These are delicious and very easy! Thank you for publishing it. For your nutrition calculations, did you aunt any level of oil absorption?

    Reply
    • Bhavana Patil says

      September 21, 2022 at 5:37 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Matt B. says

        November 14, 2022 at 9:44 am

        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.

        Reply
        • Bhavana Patil says

          November 16, 2022 at 12:35 am

          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.

          Reply
  6. Susan says

    October 18, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • Bhavana Patil says

      November 01, 2022 at 1:48 pm

      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

      Reply

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