These egg pakoras are something a bit special: boiled eggs, dipped in spiced batter and deep fried until the coating is crisp and the yolk is custardy.
Pakoras are, of course, an Indian snack food, characterised by being deep fried in a batter made primarily from gram flour (also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour or besan).
These egg pakora are arguably not entirely authentic as I've chosen to aim for semi-set, jammy yolk rather than a hard boiled one, but I promise they're very, very tasty.
To start, you'll get a pan on water onto a rolling boil and add salt and vinegar - these additions help make the shell easier to peel. You'll then boil the eggs for 6 minutes before plunging into cold water and peeling.
For the batter, you'll combine gram flour with a little rice flour (it helps with crunch) as well as chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric and just enough water to form a thick batter.
You'll then get your oil nice and hot, before rolling the eggs in the batter and then lowering them into the oil. It's such fun to see them float to the surface and turn golden brown.
The resulting batter is crisp on the outside, sort of pancake like on the inner side and with a lovely, set white and just-set yolk. You'll love them!
Here's the recipe for my version of egg pakoras. I've included lots of step-by-step photos to help you along the way.
Ingredients
For the eggs
- 6 large eggs room temp
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar
For the batter
- 125 g (4.4 oz) chickpea flour
- 25 g (0.9 oz) rice flour
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.3 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) chili powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.3 tsp) ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cumin
- 1/2 red chili finely chopped
- vegetable oil to fry
Equipment
- Deep fat fryer or suitable high-sided saucepan
Instructions
Boil the eggs
Fill a pan with water, salt and vinegar. Bring to the boil.
Gently lower the eggs into the water with a slotted spoon so that they don’t crack, then replace the lid and boil for and simmer for 6 minutes.
Lift the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of ice water to prevent them cooking further. If you don’t have ice, put them in cold water and run the cold tap into the bowl for a minute to help it stay cold.
Once the eggs cold, remove them from the water and gently tap them on the counter to break the shell all over.
Now they’re ready to peel carefully and pat dry.
Make the pakoras
Put the chickpea flour, rice flour, salt, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and fresh chilli in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together.
Measure 150ml (2/3 US cup) of water a little at a time, whisking until you have a very thick, pancake-like batter.
It needs to be thick to cling to the eggs, so you might not need all of the water. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Prepare the oil in your deep fat fryer or a large, high-sided saucepan. It’s no more than one third full to allow for safe expansion during heating and cooking.
Heat the oil to 180C (355F) or until a little bit of batter dropped into the oil bubbles.
Dip an egg into the batter and turn so that it is well coated (the batter should be thicker than it looks here!), then lower straight into the oil. Don’t fry them all at once as you’ll overcrowd the pan. Aim for 2-3 eggs at a time.
Fry for 6 minutes until crisp and golden, turning gently as needed.
Lift from the pan using a slotted spoon or straining spoon and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to allow the oil to drain.
If you like, you can place the drained pakora on a baking sheet in a low oven to stay hot and crisp while you fry the rest of the batch.
Enjoy!
Print this Egg Pakoras recipe
Egg Pakoras Recipe
Ingredients
For the eggs
- 6 large eggs room temp
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar
For the batter
- 125 g (4.4 oz) chickpea flour
- 25 g (0.9 oz) rice flour
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.3 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) chili powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.3 tsp) ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cumin
- 1/2 red chili finely chopped
- vegetable oil to fry
Equipment
- Deep fat fryer or suitable high-sided saucepan
Instructions
Boil the eggs
- Fill a pan with water, salt and vinegar. Bring to the boil.
- Gently lower the eggs into the water with a slotted spoon so that they don’t crack, then replace the lid and boil for and simmer for 6 minutes.
- Lift the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of ice water to prevent them cooking further. If you don’t have ice, put them in cold water and run the cold tap into the bowl for a minute to help it stay cold.
- Once the eggs cold, remove them from the water and gently tap them on the counter to break the shell all over.
- Now they’re ready to peel carefully and pat dry.
Make the egg pakoras
- Put the chickpea flour, rice flour, salt, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and fresh chilli in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Measure 150ml (2/3 US cup) of water a little at a time, whisking until you have a very thick, pancake-like batter. It needs to be thick to cling to the eggs, so you might not need all of the water. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the oil in your deep fat fryer or a large, high-sided saucepan. It’s no more than one third full to allow for safe expansion during heating and cooking.
- Heat the oil to 180C (355F) or until a little bit of batter dropped into the oil bubbles.
- Dip an egg into the batter and turn so that it is well coated, then lower straight into the oil. Don’t fry them all at once as you’ll overcrowd the pan. Aim for 2-3 eggs at a time.
- Fry for 6 minutes until crisp and golden, turning gently as needed.
- Lift from the pan using a slotted spoon or straining spoon and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to allow the oil to drain.
- If you like, you can place the drained pakora on a baking sheet in a low oven to stay hot and crisp while you fry the rest of the batch.
Video
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, why not also try my cauliflower pakoras or my delicious veggie korma.
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More pakora recipes to try
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