Name: Chickpea Fritters/ Chana Pakoda(Air Fryer, Stovetop)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Chickpeas / Chana ((boiled)); ¼ cup Besan/Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour; 2 tablespoons Rice Flour/Biyyapindi; 1 count Onion ((finely chopped)); 3 count Green Chillies; 1 tablespoon Chopped Fresh Ginger; 2 tablespoons Fresh Coriander Leaves ((finely chopped)); 10 count Curry Leaves ((chopped) (optional)); ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder; ¼ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder ((as per taste)); ½ teaspoon Salt ((as per taste)); 2 cups Cooking Oil ((for stove-top method) )

Recipe Cooked, Photographed and Written by Praveena

PrepTime:15 mins CookTime:15 mins Cuisine:Indian

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Pakoda / Pakora / Fritters are the easy and quick answer for satisfying our hunger pangs during tea time or as a treat for sudden guests. My kids especially love to have this as an evening treat.

Who doesn’t love Onion Pakoda?! They are a regular visitor in my kitchen. But, I often feel guilty eating them frequently, as they are fried in oil, so I thought of making it nutritious by adding protein & fibre to it.

For an even healthier version, I attempted them in my Air-Fryer, to avoid the oil. And I have to say I loved the Air fryer pakoda more than the stove-top ones.

Here comes the Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten free, Protein & Fibre Rich recipe!

chickpea fritters / chana pakoda (air fryer & stove top) Protein, Fibre Rich Garbanzo beans Vegan Appetiser for tea, party, travel, kids.

Possible alterations for the recipe, ‘Chickpea Fritters / Chana Pakoda’:

Using tinned / canned garbanzo beans: Store bought canned chickpeas can be used too. While using them, I added the water in the can, to mix the batter. Which worked well to give that crunchy texture. And not to waste the water.

To mash the boiled chickpeas, you need not use a blender / grinder. Just use a potato masher or the back side of a ladle would do too.

Other ingredients to add: Adding a ¼ cup of green peas along with the chickpeas gives it a sweeter taste to the pakoda.

Adding ginger-garlic: Try adding a tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste in the place of freshly chopped ginger & garlic.

Other spice powders to add: You might add ½ teaspoon of Indian Curry powder, as an alternative to curry leaves. If not just skip altogether.

Well before frying, at once, make the batter into tiny ball shapes, frying them at once would be more easy.

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Before starting to cook, don’t forget to see the Tips mentioned at the end.

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Ingredients:

Chickpeas / Chana – 1 cup (boiled)
Besan / Chickpea Flour / Gram Flour – ¼ cup
Rice Flour / Biyyappindi – 2 tablespoons
Onions – 1 (finely chopped)
Green Chillies – 3
Chopped Fresh Ginger – 1 tablespoon
Fresh Coriander Leaves – 2 tablespoons (chopped)
Curry Leaves – 10 (chopped) (optional)
Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder – ¼ teaspoon
Salt – ½ teaspoon / as per taste
Cooking Oil – 2 cups (for stove-top method)
” ” – 2 teaspoons (for air-fryer method)

Special Ingredients:

Rice Flour / Biyyappindi
Chopped Fresh Ginger
Onions

Step wise pics Procedure for ‘Chickpea fritters / Chana Pakoda (Air fryer & Stove top)‘:

Prep Work:

To ‘SOAK’ the dry chana / chickpeas:

Take 1 cup of dry chickpeas into a wide vessel, wash them thoroughly. Add water, 4 times the quantity of beans.
Leave the vessel on kitchen platform, let the chickpeas soak for 8 hrs/overnight.
Strain the soaked water before cooking.

Stove Top Method to Boil Chickpeas:

on STOVE TOP vessel:Take the soaked chickpeas into a sauce pan, add double quantity of water. Close with lid. Let them cook on stove-top medium flame until they soften (might take 30 to 40 mins).
on STOVE TOP PRESSURE COOKER:Take them into the cooker. Add 3 cups of water.
Close the lid, put the whistle ON, let it cook for 5 whistles. Open only when the pressure is released.

Instant Pot Method to Boil Chickpeas:

Take the soaked chickpeas into the Instant Pot. Add 3 cups of water.
Close the lid, turn the valve to SEALING, and set the mode to PRESSURE COOK under HIGH PRESSURE for 4 mins (or) else BEAN / CHILI mode. Release the pressure naturally (NPR).
Transfer all the boiled chickpeas into a separate bowl.

Using Canned / Tinned Chickpeas:

If you are using canned (or) already cooked chickpeas, ignore all the above ‘PREP WORK’ steps, and proceed with the recipe from here.

***Boiled Chickpeas taken into wide a mixing bowl***. ***Without adding any water,*** ***Grind them*** coarsely using a processor/grinder.

To Make the Pakoda Batter:

***Now, a*****dd all the rest of the ingredients (except cooking oil) into the same bowl**.

***Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of water as needed*, *Gently mix up everything* *and make the batter ready.***

Stove Top Frying Chickpea Fritters:

***Put a deep frying pan on stove top, add the 2 cups of oil, let it heat on high flame. Gently drop small blobs of batter into the oil, let them fry on both sides until they turn golden brown.***

Air Frying Method of Chickpea Fritters:

Tips:

Add the ingredients in the list, as per your availability.
Adjust the salt and spice as per your taste.
For air-fryer method, the batter mix has to be thick. Be careful while adding water to the batter. I just added 2-3 tablespoons.
But for stove-top method, the batter can be in flowing consistency as well.
The oil for deep frying must be perfectly hot, to test this just drop a small blob of batter into the oil and check .
Storage: You can store the batter in the refrigerator/freezer and fry them when needed. But remember to thaw the batter at least for 1 to 2 hrs before usage.
The fried fritters / pakoda stay good for up to 2 days at room temperature (or) can be stored in fridge but are to be reheated in microwave before serving.

Result:

These, chickpea fritters / chana pakoda (air fryer & stove top), both versions are crispy on the outside and soft from inside.
Its a protein packed crunchy appetiser suitable to satisfy your afternoon hunger pranks in a healthy way.
We had them along with sliced raw onions & fried green chillies, for additional spice.

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