Mixed Pakoray
ملے جلے پکوڑے
No Ramadan iftar in Pakistan feels complete without a plate of hot pakoray. This mixed version uses sliced potato, onion and spinach held together by a thick, well-spiced batter with and crushed coriander. The secret to pakoray that stay crisp is a thick batter with very little water, beaten well, and loose spoonfuls dropped into properly hot oil.
- ⏱ Total: 45 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 25 min
- Easy
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Put the potato, onion, spinach, green chilies and fresh coriander in a large bowl. Add the salt, chili flakes, chili powder, crushed coriander, and anardana, toss well and leave for 10 minutes. The salt draws water out of the onion and spinach, which helps make the batter.
Sift the over the vegetables and mix with your hand until everything is coated. Sprinkle in water a tablespoon at a time, mixing, until you have a thick, sticky batter that clings to the vegetables. You will likely need only 5–7 tablespoons.
Add the baking soda and beat the batter hard with your hand, always in one direction, for 2–3 minutes. This traps air so the pakoray fry up light. The batter should look slightly paler and fluffier.
Heat the oil in a over medium-high heat. It is ready when a drop of batter sizzles and rises to the top at once, about 175°C.
Drop the batter into the oil in loose, rough spoonfuls or pinches, about 8 at a time, without pressing them into neat balls. Fry for 2 minutes until set, then lower the heat to medium and keep turning for another 3–4 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
Lift them out with a slotted spoon, shake off the oil and drain on a rack or paper. Sprinkle with while still hot. Bring the oil back up to temperature before the next batch.
Serve straight away with , green chutney or ketchup, alongside dates and fruit chaat at iftar, or with chai on a rainy afternoon.
Kitchen notes
Add water sparingly. A runny batter slides off the vegetables and gives flat, oily pakoray; it should be thick enough to hold a vegetable slice upright.
Do not crowd the karahi. Too many at once drops the oil temperature and the pakoray soak up oil instead of crisping.
Make the batter just before frying. If it sits for long the vegetables keep releasing water and the batter turns thin.
The fritter of iftar
Pakoray are fried in almost every Pakistani home during Ramadan, usually in the last half hour before the fast opens, so they reach the table hot. They are just as popular on a rainy day with chai, and many families make them for guests because the batter comes together in minutes. Mixed pakoray, with several vegetables in one batter, are the most common home style.
Thick batter and hot oil
The vegetables are salted first so they release a little moisture, and that moisture does much of the work of binding the . Water is then added a spoon at a time; the batter should be thick and sticky rather than pourable. Beating it by hand for a couple of minutes adds air, and a pinch of baking soda helps it puff. Dropping the batter in loose, craggy pieces gives more edges, and the edges are what turn crunchy. The oil should be hot enough that the batter rises immediately, then the heat comes down slightly so the potato inside cooks through.
Variations
- Aloo pakoray: thin potato rounds dipped one at a time in a slightly thinner batter.
- Palak pakoray: whole spinach leaves dipped in batter, crisp and lacy.
- Pakoray for kadhi: onion-only pakoray, softer and smaller, added to yogurt kadhi.
Serving and reheating
Pakoray are best within 15 minutes of frying. Leftovers keep in the fridge for a day; reheat them in an oven or air fryer at 180°C for 5–6 minutes until crisp again. Leftover pakoray are also often dropped into yogurt with a little chaat masala the next day.
Questions people ask
How do I keep pakoray crisp for longer?
Use a thick batter, fry at a steady 175°C, and drain on a rack rather than piling them on paper. Some cooks fry them pale first, then fry again for a minute in hotter oil just before serving.
Can I add rice flour?
Yes. Replacing 2 tablespoons of besan with rice flour or cornflour makes the coating extra crisp.
What else can go into pakoray?
Cauliflower florets, sliced eggplant, green chilies, boiled egg halves and chicken strips all work. Keep pieces thin or small so they cook through in the time the batter takes to brown.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 250
- Protein
- 7 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
