Glasgow-Style Chicken Pakora
Crispy, spiced chicken bites coated in a vibrant gram flour batter, served alongside Glasgow's signature creamy pink dipping sauce.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 440 kcal
Equipment
- •Deep heavy-based pan
- •Mixing bowls
- •Whisk
- •Slotted spoon
- •Kitchen paper
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 440 kcal
- fat
- 22 g
- carbs
- 26 g
- fibre
- 4 g
- protein
- 34 g
- calories
- 440 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Place the chicken into a bowl with the lemon juice, garlic and ginger paste, and half the salt.
- 2
Stir well to coat and leave to marinate for fifteen minutes.
- 3
Whisk the gram flour, cornflour, Kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala, ground cumin, fenugreek leaves, and remaining salt in a large bowl.
- 4
Gradually whisk in approximately 120ml cold water until you have a thick, smooth batter that clings to the spoon.
- 5
Add the marinated chicken pieces to the batter and stir until thoroughly coated.
- 6
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep heavy-based pan on the hob to 180°C.
- 7
Carefully drop the chicken pieces into the hot oil in small batches to prevent overcrowding.
- 8
Deep-fry for four to five minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp, deep golden-red, and cooked through to the centre.
- 9
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a tray lined with kitchen paper.
- 10
Whisk the plain yoghurt, tomato ketchup, and mint sauce together in a ramekin until uniformly pale pink.
- 11
Serve the hot chicken pakoras immediately alongside the chilled pink dipping sauce.
Chef's tips
Maintain the oil temperature around 180°C; if the oil cools too much, the batter absorbs excess grease. Do not make the batter too runny or it will slide off the chicken. Kashmiri chilli provides the authentic Scottish curry-house reddish hue without overwhelming heat.
Ingredient substitutions
- boneless chicken breasts → boneless chicken thighs or firm white fish chunks
- mint sauce → a pinch of dried mint and a dash of white vinegar
- Kashmiri chilli powder → standard mild chilli powder mixed with sweet paprika
Storage
Store leftover cooled pakora in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Reheating
Reheat on a baking tray in a preheated oven at 190°C for eight to ten minutes until crisp and piping hot.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Adding too much water to the gram flour, resulting in a thin batter that drips off the meat.
- •Frying too many pieces at once, which drops the oil temperature and produces soggy pakora.
- •Cutting chicken pieces too large, causing the exterior to burn before the meat is cooked through.
Serving suggestions
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