This smashed aloo pakora recipe is my effort to bring you a healthier pakora option. No more heating up gallons of oil and frying endless batches of pakoras. These air-fried/baked aloo pakoras are guilt-free, crispy, and just as delicious as their deep-fried counterpart.
What are pakoras?
Pakoras are gram flour (besan) fritters often made with potatoes, onions, spinach, green chilies, and many other vegetables. I have seen people use eggplant, zucchini, and cabbage as well. A dry mix of of gram flour and spices is prepared to which sliced or chopped vegetables and water are added. These are deep fried in sometimes not the best of oils especially if they’re not homemade. This is a common street and Ramadan food in much of South Asia, particularly Pakistan and India.
I know I may offend some by sharing this recipe because pakoras, especially in Ramadan, is a culturally sensitive topic! I know growing up we had to have pakoras every single day at our Iftar table, but now that I am wiser (ahem!) I’d like to think I know better than to negate the wonderful effects of fasting. And so, when trying to come up with a healthier pakora recipe, I decided to try this out. Inspired by the smashed potato trend.
I do want to go on the record, though, and say that pakoras themselves aren’t necessarily unhealthy; it is when we fry them in inflammatory seed oils like vegetable, canola, corn, etc. that they become bad for us. Pan-frying pakoras in healthy fats like avocado or refined coconut oil is a much better option. Of course, we also don’t want to be having starchy vegetables like potatoes excessively either so be mindful of that as well.
Why you’ll love these healthy potato pakoras
Healthier. Deep-fried pakoras can be pretty detrimental to one’s health if eaten daily. And although no one eats pakoras all the time otherwise, many of us do tend to go overboard in Ramadan and consume them almost daily. Research has shown that eating greasy foods regularly may be the cause of inflammation, diabetes, acne, and obesity.
Quicker. There’s no need to stand around deep frying batches of pakoras. The potatoes called for in this recipe are much smaller than the regular ones, and boiling them doesn’t take long at all.
Hands Free. There is very little hands-on time. Apart from making the batter, smashing the potatoes, and brushing them, a lot of the cooking is hands-free. The boiling and baking don’t need much attention.
Minimal and easy-to-source ingredients. And ones you’ll likely already have in your pantry.
What you’ll need
Potatoes. Baby potatoes are the best for this recipe. The portions come out perfectly, and they crisp up nicely too. I would not advise bigger potatoes for this recipe because they just end up being thick and taste bland.
Gram flour. For authentic pakoras, use gram flour (split brown chickpeas) also known as channa daal. It is often confused with chickpea flour, which is made by milling garbanzo beans. Chickpea flour can be used if gram flour isn’t available.
Spices. Salt, cumin powder, roasted cumin-coriander powder (recipe in recipe card notes section), red chili powder, garlic powder.
Oil. Avocado or light olive oil.
Water. This is to thin out the batter.
How to make smashed aloo pakora
Important note:
You MUST follow my instructions to the T for this one to be a success. DO NOT be tempted to use larger sized potatoes as they just don’t work. Happy smashing!
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Add the baby potatoes and boil them. This takes about 15 -20 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare your pakora batter. Set it aside.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
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Drain the potatoes once cooked through.
Air fryer method
If you are air frying the pakoras, spray the basket with some oil and air fry at 400ºF/200ºC. Do it in batches so as not to overcrowd the basket. The bake time can vary from different brands but it can take around 10 minutes or so per batch.
Oven method
On a sheet pan lined with greased parchment paper, smash the boiled potatoes with a fork or the bottom of a glass jar. Make sure not to press down too hard, as this will break them apart. Don’t crowd the pan as we want to get crispy potatoes, not steamed ones!
Coat all the flattened potatoes with a very thin layer of the pakora batter. You can use a pastry brush for ease. Don’t layer on too much batter, as it will result in a crumbly coating. Bake for about 25-27 minutes.
Garnish with fresh cilantro and chaat masala, and enjoy immediately with some Imli Ki Chutney, Pea Chutney, or Hari Chutney.
Tips & substitutions for the best-smashed aloo pakoras
- To get the pakoras crispy, make sure to grease your parchment paper. That way the pakoras will get crispy on top and bottom.
- Use a square piece of parchment paper to cover the potatoes and use the bottom of a small glass jar to flatten them one by one.
- If you don’t have roasted cumin-coriander powder, swap it with regular cumin powder. The roasted cumin-coriander powder just elevates it.
- Chickpea flour often confused for gram flour can be used as a substitute.
- Use baby potatoes for this recipe as they are the perfect bite-sized portion with a crispier result.
- If your potatoes aren’t getting crispy on the bottom, but have darkened up top, turn off the oven at the end of the cooking time and let the pakoras stay for about 5 minutes inside the oven.
- If you want, you can add some chopped onions, green chilies, and cilantro/coriander on top of the smashed pakoras before cooking them.
- Enjoy them fresh out of the oven!
What do smashed pakoras taste like?
These smashed pakoras taste like a spiced roasted potato. If I were to compare the difference between a regular pakora and a smashed pakora, I’d say it is much like the difference between French fries and herb-roasted potatoes.
How to store smashed pakoras
These smashed pakoras are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven. If you do have leftovers, store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in the toaster oven or air fryer before eating. These pakoras are best not frozen as potatoes do not freeze well.
What to eat with aloo pakoras
- These are excellent as a snack at teatime, and you can pair them with other Pakistani snacks like Chana Chaat.
- They make a great side dish or appetizer with Chicken Haleem at dinner parties.
More Pakistani tea-time recipes to try
Hariyali Chicken Tikka Skewers
If you try this recipe, I’d appreciate it so much if you would rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. And let me know in the comments how it worked out for you. I love hearing feedback and the recipe rating helps others find the recipe!
Smashed Aloo Pakoras
Equipment
- 2 Sheet pans
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the batter
- 1 tablespoon gram flour
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin/coriander powder *see note
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil and add the potatoes and salt. They should take about 15 minutes to boil.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC. While the oven is preheating, line a sheet pan with parchment paper and grease it with some oil and set it aside.If air frying, follow your air fryer's instruction to see what temperature you need to set it to cook potatoes. Mine was set at 400ºF.
- Next, make the gram flour batter by adding all the spices, salt, gram flour, water and oil. Mix and set aside.
- Check on potatoes. Drain them and let cool slightly before placing them on the greased parchment lined sheet pan. Make sure not to crowd the pan. You may need a second smaller pan to fit all the potatoes. Smash the potatoes with a fork making sure keep them intact. If your potatoes break apart, use a parchment paper to cover the potato and use the bottom of a small glass jar to flatten them one at a time.
- Next, brush the potatoes with a single thin layer of the batter and bake for about 25-27 minutes. Checking around the 20 minute mark to ensure that they don't burn. They are done when they have achieved a golden brown color. If air frying, spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and place a few smashed potatoes at a time making sure not to crowd the basket. Air fryer as per your air fryer instructions. Mine took 10 minutes per batch on 400ºF/200ºC.
- Garnish with some fresh cilantro/coriander, chaat masala and enjoy with some imli and or hari chutneys immediately.
Video
Notes
- Smashed pakoras, like regular pakoras are best enjoyed fresh out the oven and go soft the longer you keep them.
- Baby potatoes are the ideal size for crispy pakoras. If you do get bigger sized potatoes, get red potatoes as they are not too big. Cook times will increase so keep a look out after the 25-27 minute mark.
- I make my own roasted cumin/coriander powder at home and use it to spice and garnish almost everything South Asian from curries to pakoras! This recipe makes a big batch: 1 cup cumin seeds, 1 cup coriander seeds and 2 tablespoons fennel seeds. Roast them in a cast iron skillet. Allow to cool and grind. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.
Farha says
Amazing!! love that it is gluten free
Zeeshan says
So glad you loved it Farha, thank you for your reveiew 😊