Recipe for Veggie Pakora with sweet potato and broccoli, served with a homemade Cilantro Coconut Sauce. Vegan and gluten-free. YUMMY!
I just love Indian food… everything from creamy curries to garlic naan, chapati, basmati rice, papadum to pakoras. Yes, pakoras, awesome chickpea battered fried veggies. I haven’t had restaurant veggie pakora in such a long time, so I decided to make them at home.
Usually, I avoid making fried foods at home but for these Veggie Pakoras, I had to make an exception. I tried a baked version once, but it wasn’t like the real deal at all and they couldn’t satisfy my pakora cravings.
These fried Veggie Pakora are crunchy and flavorful (and naturally vegan and gluten-free). I served them with a homemade finger-licking-good Cilantro Coconut Sauce and with additional chopped fresh cilantro on top. It’s the perfect appetizer or snack!
The Veggies For Pakoras
You can use pretty much any veggies you like for pakora, but I used boiled sweet potato cubes, steamed broccoli, finely chopped spring onions and red onion. I really loved that combination and the sweetness of the sweet potato was amazing with the savory chickpea batter. I steamed the broccoli florets in a strainer in the pot where I boiled the sweet potatoes, so that’s a win-win situation right here.
The Batter
The chickpea batter is really easy to make. Sift the chickpea flour, add the spices, give it a quick whisk, slowly add in the water and whisk it until it’s a creamy batter. Toss in the veggies, give it a good mix and place spoon-sized bites of the veggie-chickpea-mix into the oil. Take them out once they got a nice golden color and are crunchy on the outside.
Veggie Pakora with Sweet Potato and Broccoli (vegan & gluten-free)
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Veggie Pakora
- 1 cup chickpea flour , sifted
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon kala namak
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 red onion
- 2 spring onions
- frying oil
Ingredients for the Cilantro Coconut Sauce
- 1/2 can full-fat coconut milk
- 2/3 cup sunflower seeds
- lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro + more cilantro to garnish
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
Instructions for the Cilantro Coconut Sauce
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth. If you want the sauce to be thinner, you can always add more water.
Instructions for the Veggie Pakora
- Peel and dice the sweet potato and boil it until soft, meanwhile steam the broccoli florets.
- Once the broccoli is softer, cut it even smaller. Peel and dice the red onion and cut the spring onion thinly.
- Mix the sifted chickpea flour, kala namak, garam masala and curry powder and slowly add the water. Whisk until it's a smooth batter.
- Add all the veggies in the chickpea batter and give it a good mix.
- In a small pot heat up the frying oil. Use a spoon to carefully load portions of the vegetable-batter-mix into the hot frying oil and fry them in there until the pakora is crisp and golden brown. Place them on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
- Once all the pakoras are ready, drizzle them with the Cilantro Coconut Sauce and with fresh cilantro if you want to. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this Veggie Pakora recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Leave a comment or post a picture on instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan and tag me via @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it ^.^ I love to see all your lovely creations! Thanks! <3
Sarah
Monday 18th of February 2019
I made these last night for a gathering of friends - not knowing one guest has made thousands of pakoras during his festival catering time. No pressure then! Our friend has never used sweet potato and said he was in pakora heaven! Our teenager is vegan and these are a stayer and we’ll try diff veggies. The dip was good but will serve next time with a simple tomato, onion, cilantro etc salad and yoghurt. Thanks so much for introducing us to pakoras, now loved in our household!
Bianca
Wednesday 20th of February 2019
Wow, what a great review! This makes me so happy, Sarah! :)
Toni Woods
Monday 28th of May 2018
How long will the coconut sauce keep in the fridge for? Thanks.
Bianca
Monday 28th of May 2018
My guess is 3-4 days if stored in an air-tight jar/container.
Kayla
Friday 17th of March 2017
Looks delicious! Could I bake these instead... how long and at what temperature?
Bianca
Friday 17th of March 2017
You could, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've tried baked veggie pakora before and it wasn't comparable to the fried ones. If you still want to give the healthier, oven-baked version a try, I'd suggest baking them at 400°C until golden and crispy. The time depends on the size of the pakoras :)
Ann Pierce
Saturday 3rd of September 2016
it's even better with cabbage! i make it for my family and is especially good with grilled chicken
Chrissie
Friday 26th of August 2016
What is a good substitute for chickpea flour if you can't get it?
Bianca
Friday 26th of August 2016
that's a hard one because pakoras are typically made with chickpea flour and would taste completely different when another flour is used. Asian or Indian speciality stores do have chickpea four, or maybe you can find it in "foreign food aisles" in supermarkets, if all fails I'd recommend buying it online.