September 17th 2023

Gobi Pakora is a crispy and flavourful Indian appetizer or snack. This cauliflower dish is perfect to serve with your favorite Indian mains or even as a snack with different chutneys or sauces. This satisfying food is naturally vegan and gluten-free, just perfect to please a hungry crowd!

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What is Gobi Pakora?

Gobi Pakora, also known as Cauliflower Pakora or Cauliflower Pakoda, is a popular Indian snack and appetizer made from cauliflower florets. These tasty fritters are deep-fried, resulting in a crispy outer layer and a soft, tender interior. We love Gobi Pakoras served as an appetizer with our Indian-style dinners but you can have these as a snack, or side dish too.

Our Gobi Parkora recipe is made with a delicious batter that combines gram flour, spices, curry leaves, fresh green chilis, and fresh coriander. Using the same batter, you can make another type of vegetable pakora such as Onion Bhaji.

What is gram flour?

Gram flour is the main ingredient when making bhaji or pakoras. People tend to think that they are made with regular flour but no. Gram flour or Besan is a type of flour made from ground brown chickpeas.

To prepare your bhaji you can get chickpea flour too, which is made from ground white chickpeas, but if you can find a good quality gram flour, we recommend using the right one. The taste and nutritional value will always be better!

As gram flour is made from a pulse, it’s gluten-free. Many delicious Indian appetizers are made using gram flour.

Our Gobi Pakora are:

An appetizer
Vegan
Gluten-free
Slightly spicy
Party food or finger food
Perfect as a snack or side dish
Easy to prepare
Quick to make

How to make the best Gobi Pakora

Ingredients

Gram flour. As mentioned above, you can use chickpea flour as well, but the traditional recipe calls for gram flour.

Cauliflower. We use fresh cauliflower to make our Cauliflower Pakora. Frozen cauliflower florets can be used as well, just make sure they are completely thawed before using.

Spice mix. To flavor your batter, you need a good spice mix. For our batter, we use garam masala powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric powder, and salt. Other great options are red chili powder, coriander, cumin seeds, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Curry leaves. You can use fresh or dried curry leaves. This is an optional ingredient that may be difficult to find, but if you have easy access to it, we strongly recommend using it as it gives your Pakora a delicious flavor. If you buy fresh curry leaves, keep the rest in the fridge and they will last for a good few days, or freeze them to keep them for longer.

Fresh coriander. We use fresh coriander leaves in the batter as it gives your pakoras a great flavor and fresh touch.

Fresh green chilies. If you love spicy food, don’t leave this ingredient out. Adding some finely chopped green chilis makes a huge difference, giving your cauliflower fritters that spicy touch you are going for.

Lemon. Last, we like adding a squeeze of lemon into our batter.

Cornflour and bicarbonate of soda. Adding these ingredients is totally optional as we have made them before without the addition of these ingredients and they come out good. Using cornflour and bicarbonate soda gets a nicer texture for your pakora and they come out just perfect.

Step-by-step Method

Gobi Pakora Batter

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix gram flour, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt, curry leaves, cornflour, and bicarbonate soda using a large bowl.
Add the fresh coriander, finely chopped, and a squeeze of lemon.
Gradually pour the water into the mixture. Just add a little water at a time while you keep whisking the mixture to ensure no lumps are formed.
Combine until all ingredients are incorporated and form a homogeneous batter. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more water. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more gram flour. You need a thick batter.

Add the cauliflower

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and add the cauliflower pieces to the batter.
Mix the cauliflower into the batter until all the florets are well-coated.

Cook

Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick pan or deep fryer to medium temperature. You will need enough oil to deep-fry the Pakoras. We prefer making a few smaller batches than just big batches. The cauliflower fritters cook nicely, and they won’t stick to each other. You can check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a little mixture and checking if it starts to bubble. When the oil is hot, add some pakora.
Cook until golden brown, turning them halfway to make sure they cook evenly on both sides. When cooked, take them out of the hot oil, and leave them on a paper towel for a couple of minutes to remove the excess oil. You can now start enjoying your crispy gobi pakoras.

Tip: Use a small frying pan to reduce to amount of oil you will need to deep fry the gobi pakoda.

Tips To Prepare The Perfect Crispy Gobi Pakora

Batter consistency. If your chickpea batter is too thin, it won’t stick to the cauliflower, and if the batter is too thick, the pakoras will be too dense. You need just the right batter consistency. Smooth, thick, and lump-free consistency, just enough to coat the cauliflower florets effectively. Use gram or chickpea flour. This flour is lighter, healthier, and turns out crispier than regular flour.
Oil temperature for frying: Our small trick to see if the oil is hot enough is to drop a small amount of batter into the oil, and if the oil is hot enough, this should start to sizzle and rise to the surface shortly. Make sure the oil is not smoky, if the oil is too hot, your gobi pakoda will burn before cooking completely. On the other hand, oil that’s not hot enough will result in soggy and greasy pakoras.
Use fresh cauliflower instead of frozen: Fresh cauliflower florets are preferred over frozen ones, as frozen florets can become mushy after cooking. You can blanch the cauliflower for a minute or two in hot water before coating it with batter but this step is not necessary.
Adding spices and flavors: When making Pakora, make sure your batter is flavored enough. Spices, salt, and fresh ingredients such as coriander and green chilis are a perfect combination to give a delicious flavor to your batter.
Frying technique: To get that perfect crispy texture, fry the Gobi Pakoras in small batches, preventing overcrowding and ensuring even cooking.
Serve hot. Hot Gobi Pakoras are always best. Once they get cold, they lose their crispiness and could get soggy. You can always have the batter ready and leave the cooking process for the very last minute.

Serving Suggestions

Our crispy fried pakora are best served with a fresh sauce such as yogurt and mint dipping sauce or a sweet chutney such as mango chutney, tamarind chutney, or garlic chutney (our favorite). Another option is to use the classic tomato ketchup.

We love making our own mint sauce by mixing some plain soy yogurt with fresh finely chopped mint, freshly squeezed lemon, and a pinch of salt. You can add some maple syrup to make it sweeter.

Gobi Pakora can be served as an appetizer, a great snack, or delicious side. Gobi pakora is as well, a delightful and delicious tea time snack, perfect for pairing with a hot cup of chai or masala tea.

Crispy Pakoras is a great side dish to serve with your favorite Indian Curries or a spicy Gobi Manchurian.

Store and Reheat

If you have some gobi pakora left over, you can keep them in the fridge for later, or freeze them if you use fresh cauliflower. Always use an airtight container.

The best way to reheat your cauliflower fritters to get them crunchy again is by using an air-fryer. Our Ninja air fryer has a reheat option which works amazingly when heating up fried food such as bhaji or spring rolls. Another option to get that crispiness back is to use the oven. Alternatively, you can use the microwave but they won’t get as crispy.

If you have some batter leftover, you can use it to make another type of pakora such as onion pakora, paneer pakora (vegetarian), or vegetable pakora.

FAQ

Can I make this Gobi Pakora recipe using all-purpose flour?

Traditionally, pakora is made using chickpea flour (besan), which gives it a distinct flavor and texture. However, if you don’t have chickpea flour on hand, you can use all-purpose flour as a substitute, although the taste and texture may be slightly different. Adjust the water to get a perfect consistency, as you may need more or less depending on the type of flour you are using (plain flour, whole wheat flour, rice flour, etc). Here is a recipe by Lowly Food, using plain flour.

How many cauliflower pakoras does this recipe make?

It will always depend on how big or small you cut your cauliflower florets, but our recipe makes about 18-20 bite-sized pakoras.

Can I bake Cauliflower Pakora?

Yes, you can bake cauliflower pakora instead of deep-frying them if you prefer a healthier alternative. Baking them will result in a lighter and less crispy texture compared to deep-frying, but they can still be delicious. Place the mixture on a baking sheet on some parchment paper and bake for about 15-20 minutes flipping them halfway through to ensure that they cook evenly.

Can I use an air fryer to cook Pakora?

Yes, you can use an air fryer to make Gobi Pakora. Using an air fryer can be a healthier alternative to deep frying as it uses less oil. Simply coat the cauliflower florets in the seasoned batter and place them in the air fryer basket. Cook at 200C (400F) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.

What type of oil should I use for frying?

For this recipe, we like using neutral-oil, to not add a strong flavor to the cauliflower fritters. Olive oil can be a bit overpowering when deep-frying the pakora so we prefer using sunflower or rapeseed oil.

Is cauliflower pakoda gluten-free?

Cauliflower pakora can be made gluten-free by using the right type of flour. Traditionally, pakoras are made using gram flour (also known as chickpea or garbanzo bean flour) which is naturally gluten-free. In addition, white rice flour can also be used, making it suitable for those following a gluten-free diet. Be sure to check all the other ingredients and spices to ensure they are also gluten-free.

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