Cauliflower Pakoda | How to make Gobi Pakora

gobi pakora served on a white plate with green chutney.

5 from 6 votes

Cauliflower Pakoda | How to make Gobi Pakora

Cauliflower Pakoda or Gobi Pakora are crispy and tasty cauliflower fritters. In this North Indian recipe marinated cauliflower florets are coated with savory gram flour batter and deep fried. They make for a wonderful evening vegan snack.

Prep Time25

Cook Time25

Total Time50

Course: Appetizers, Snacks

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 318kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

Main ingredients

1 medium sized cauliflower (phool gobi)
2 cups gram flour (besan)
½ tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
1 pinch asafoetida powder (hing)
1 pinch turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
2 to 3 pinch baking soda (or baking powder) - optional
water - add as required to make a thick flowing batter
oil - any high smoking neutral flavored oil or mustard oil for deep frying
rock salt (edible and food grade) or regular salt as required

For garnish and flavoring

1 teaspoon chaat masala to sprinkle from above
½ teaspoon lemon jucice to be sprinkled (optional)
1 or 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves for garnish (cilantro)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

In a pan, Boil enough water with salt.
Break or chop the cauliflower in medium sized florets.
Rinse them well and add them to the boiling water.
Switch off the flame and let the cauliflower florets be immersed in the water for 10 to 12 minutes.
Drain the water from the cauliflower florets. In a pan marinate the cauliflower with red chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder. Mix very well and keep aside for 8 to 10 minutes.

Making cauliflower pakoda

In another bowl, make a smooth batter with the besan/gram flour, asafoetida, baking soda or baking powder, salt and water.
Next add carom seeds to the batter and mix well.
Heat oil in a kadai or deep fryer. You can use any neutral tasting oil with a high smoking point.
Take each marinated cauliflower and dip in the batter.
Coat each floret evenly with the batter and add them carefully in the medium hot oil.
When one side becomes slightly crisp and the batter firms up then turn over with a slotted spoon and continue to fry the other side.
Fry till the cauliflower fritters are crisp and golden evenly. You will have to turn the pakora a couple of times for even frying.
With a slotted spoon remove the pakoda and drain as much oil as possible. Then keep them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Serve the cauliflower pakoda hot or warm with any green chutney or sauce, sprinkled with chaat masala, lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. You can also have them with roti or stuff them between bread slices or dinner rolls.

Notes

You can skip the blanching step of cauliflower. It is mainly done to remove the worms or insects, if any, from the vegetable.
Make sure that you make a medium consistency batter. Don’t make the batter thin, as it will absorb a lot of oil while frying.
Also, don’t make a very thick batter as the pakora texture can become doughy and dense.
You can use sunflower oil, peanut oil, mustard oil or any neutral flavored oil that has a high smoking temperature.
Another way to make this Gobi Pakora is without marinating. Just mix everything except the cauliflower and prepare the batter. Dip the cauliflower florets in the spiced batter and fry the pakoras in medium hot oil.
If you want to make these Cauliflower Fritters gluten-free, then skip adding asafoetida (hing) or use gluten free asafoetida.
This recipe of Gobi Pakora can easily be reduced or scaled up to make a small or big batch.

Nutrition