Baked Veggie Pakora Recipe

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This baked veggie pakora recipe is easy to make and suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Baked veggie pakoras have browned, crisp edges, a tender center and the warm spice of garam masala and turmeric. They’re made in the oven with grated vegetables and just enough flour to bind them.

My sister Kath came up with this variation of the classic pakora recipe, and I love how the root vegetables give the centers a mild sweetness that balances the spices.

This veg pakora recipe takes a different route from traditional deep-fried pakoras. It’s made with all-purpose flour, and the veggies are cooked before the mixture goes into the oven. The baked pakoras have browned edges and tender centers. I love them as an appetizer but they’re also good as a side dish with a curry and/or rice.

Why You’ll Love This Veggie Pakora Recipe

• No pan of frying oil: The pakoras cook on a baking sheet with a light coating of cooking spray.
• Plenty of vegetable texture: Grated carrot, rutabaga and shallots make up most of each pakora. The flour acts as a light binder.
• Gently spiced: Garam masala, turmeric and chili give the pakoras warmth. The small amount of chili keeps the heat mild, and you can increase it to taste. I like to keep the spices at a minimum so you can taste the individual vegetables and so nothing overpowers anything else.

What is Pakora?

Pakoras are fritters from the Indian subcontinent. Traditional vegetable pakoras are usually coated in a seasoned gram flour batter and deep-fried. Gram flour is also called besan or chickpea flour.

This vegetarian pakora recipe is a baked adaptation made with all-purpose flour. It doesn’t have the same all-around crunch or nutty flavor as a traditional fried pakora, although the ridged edges do get crisp and browned in the oven.

Veg Pakora Recipe Ingredients

• Carrot and rutabaga (swede): These grated root vegetables provide sweetness, color and most of the pakoras’ structure.
• Shallots and garlic: Shallots have a milder onion flavor than a large yellow or red onion. Garlic adds a savory background note.
• Spinach: Fresh spinach should be chopped. Frozen spinach needs to be thawed and squeezed very dry so it doesn’t loosen the mixture.
• Tomato paste: Also called tomato purée in the UK, this gives the mixture a little acidity, sweetness and color.
• All-purpose flour and water: The flour binds the grated vegetables. Add the water gradually because the amount needed depends on how much moisture is left in the spinach and vegetables.
• Spices and cilantro: Garam masala, turmeric, chili powder, salt and black pepper season the pakoras. Fresh cilantro (coriander) adds a herbal flavor.
• Cooking spray: Use it on the baking sheet and the exposed surface of the pakoras to help them brown.

How to Make Baked Veggie Pakoras

• Cook the vegetables: Sauté the garlic, shallots, carrot and rutabaga until they begin to soften and brown.
• Add the seasoning: Stir in the spices and cook briefly so they coat the vegetables evenly.
• Make the mixture: Add the spinach, tomato paste, flour and cilantro. Stir in the water a little at a time until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape.
• Shape the pakoras: Arrange separate mounds on a greased baking sheet and coat the exposed surfaces with cooking spray.
• Bake: Cook until the pakoras are browned, crisp at the edges and firm in the center.

Substitutions and Variations

• Stronger onion flavor: Replace some of the root vegetables with thinly sliced onion. If onion becomes the main vegetable, the finished fritters are closer to onion pakoras or onion bhajis.
• Root vegetable swap: Parsnip or grated potato can replace the rutabaga. Cook the vegetables until their excess moisture has evaporated.
• Gram flour: Besan is the traditional flour for pakora, although it absorbs water differently from all-purpose flour. Add the water gradually and judge the mixture by consistency if you make this change.
• More heat: Prefer your veggie pakora recipe spiced up some more? Increase the chili powder or add a finely chopped green chili.
• Different herbs: Use mint in place of some or all of the cilantro for a cooler herbal flavor.

Tips for Crisp Baked Pakoras

• Grate the vegetables finely: Fine, even shreds bind more readily and cook at the same rate.
• Drain the spinach thoroughly: Excess water makes the mixture spread and slows browning.
• Add water cautiously: The mixture should hold in a mound on the baking sheet. It shouldn’t run or flatten by itself.
• Leave room between the pakoras: Space allows hot air to reach the edges.
• Use cooking spray on both surfaces: Coat the sheet before shaping the pakoras, then spray the tops and sides.

Common Pakora Problems

• The mixture spreads: The spinach may be too wet or too much water was added. Stir in a small amount of flour until a spoonful holds its shape.
• The pakoras don’t brown: Wet vegetables, crowded spacing or too little cooking spray may be the cause.
• The centers taste floury: The mounds may be too large or the mixture may contain more flour than it needs. Keep them small and only add extra flour when the mixture won’t hold together.

What to Serve with Vegetable Pakoras

Serve the pakoras hot with mango chutney, mint raita, cilantro chutney or tamarind chutney. Lemon wedges and thinly sliced onion are nice contrasting additions too.

For a larger meal, add dal or curry, steamed basmati rice and a cucumber salad. Masala chai is another traditional partner for pakoras, especially when they’re served as a snack.

An Indian omelet is another idea if you’re not restricted to vegan dishes.

Make Ahead and Storage

• Make ahead: Cook the vegetable mixture, let it cool and refrigerate it for up to one day. Add the flour, water and cilantro shortly before shaping and baking the pakoras.
• Refrigerator: Cool leftover pakoras completely and keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Freezer: Freeze the cooled pakoras in a single layer, then transfer them to a freezer container. Keep them frozen for up to 2 months.
• Reheat: Warm refrigerated or frozen pakoras in the oven or air fryer until heated through and crisp at the edges. A microwave will warm them, although it will soften the outside.

Veggie Pakora FAQs

What flour is used in this veggie pakora recipe?

This recipe uses all-purpose flour (plain flour). Traditional pakora recipes normally use gram flour, also called besan, which gives them a nuttier flavor and makes them naturally gluten-free.

Are baked pakoras as crispy as fried pakoras?

No. Deep-fried pakoras develop a crisp coating all around. Baked pakoras brown most on their exposed ridges. Cooking spray, a thick mixture and enough space on the baking sheet improve the baked texture.

Are pakoras and onion bhajis the same?

Pakoras vs bhajis: the names overlap, and usage changes between regions. An onion bhaji is an onion-based fritter made with gram flour. These pakoras contain several vegetables and are baked with all-purpose flour, so they aren’t an onion bhaji recipe.

Are these pakoras gluten-free?

No, not as written. All-purpose flour contains gluten. Gram flour is gluten-free, although changing the flour will change how much water the mixture needs and I haven’t tried making these using that.

Is this veggie pakora recipe vegan?

These pakoras contain no eggs or dairy. Check the cooking spray label if you need every ingredient to be certified vegan.

More Vegetarian Appetizers

If you like this baked pakora recipe, you might like to try some similar dishes. My broccoli fritters are another baked vegetable fritter. The spinach potato knishes have a crisp pastry shell and mashed potato filling, and the steamed vegetable wontons pair a cabbage-noodle filling with chili-garlic sauce. There are more ideas in my vegetarian appetizer recipes section.

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