Crispy Onion Pakoda Burgers

Quick, easy, delicious and vegan crunchy onion pakodas or fried fritters sandwiched in soft burger buns - turning your ordinary pakora aka most loved Indian monsoon appetiser recipe into a delicious Indian style burger. So good, so easy and perfect for snacking.

Guess what? I finally found an exciting way to incorporate onions in my diet. Thats what! Who cares if they are at their unhealthiest best -> hello deep fried fritters... as long as they are sandwiched between soft pillowey golden brown burger buns, topped with some mayo (... or homemade feta dip) & tomato slices for that pop of colour and may be some garlic fries on the side....?? This burger party just keeps getting better with every word I type.

For someone who has had a love-hate relationship with onions all her life, its safe to say, I do like onions in their experimental version. Remember this yummy french onion yogurt dip or this blue cheese caramelised onion pasta? See, I can like onions too. Well not always, but definitely when cooked in lots of butter & wine! Now coming back to these Onion Pakoda Burgers... I may wanna stop writing an essay on onions but can I just declare that the best way to enjoy a recipe with onion as hero ingredient is to make pakodas (fritters/ bhajiyas) out of them? YES I CAN! 

How to make Onion Pakoda Burgers?

The hero of this stunning & vibrant looking onion pakoda burger is of course the pakoda aka one of the most popular Indian appetiser recipe that happens to be naturally vegan and vegetarian.  These yummy crunchy pakodas are made with thinly sliced onions mixed in a chickpea flour (besan) batter with super basic pantry ingredients. 

Ingredients for Onion Pakodas

• Onions: One giant or two medium sized red onions sliced very thinly
• Besan/ Chickpea Flour/ Gram Flour
• Spices: Turmeric, Salt & Chilli Powder (Paprika works too!)
• Coriander: Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• Water
• Baking Soda: For extra crispiness (if you dont have baking soda, replace water with soda water)
• Ginger Garlic Paste: Fresh or store-bought. You do you.

How to make crispy Indian pakodas (fritters)

To make pakoras/ bhajias, mix all of the above listed ingredients until a very sticky mixture is formed. The mixture should look very stiff and not runny at all. You should be able to scoop out the mixture (solid form) with the help of a cookie scooper or with 2 spoons. Safest way to check would to be see if you can hold roughly 2-3 tbsp mixture with your fingers. 

Once you have your pakoda mixture ready, its time to cook them. Now I know you are going to turn away as you read deep fried. But how else do you actually eat a pakoda? Of course its possible to bake pakodas or air fry them, but why have moclate when you can eat chocolate? Do we have any FRIENDS fans here? I am sure you got my point.

Please dont spoil this recipe by choosing not to fry them. Once your mixture is ready, add about 2-3 tbsp of mixture to hot oil and deep fry until golden brown and crispy. 

Now that your crispy onion fritters are ready, its time to assemble your yummy burgers. You may wanna eat 1-2 while you taste them (okay fine, I mean 5) but keep reading until end of the post to learn how to prevent pakodas from getting soggy. 

To assemble the burgers, prepare your burger buns - grill or toast. Add some mayo or some feta dip or either of these yummy homemade dips and a couple or 4 pieces of crispy onion pakodas and serve. 

Tips & Tricks to make the best crispy onion pakodas

• Onions: Make sure you slice the red onions very very thinly to ensure that you have very fine cut pieces instead of thick slimy undercooked onions post frying. Thinly sliced onions will result in crispier pakodas.
• Soda: This recipe calls for a teaspoon of baking soda. This is very important if you want to have seriously crispy insanely crunchy pakodas. If you do not have baking soda, use cold soda water instead of water.
• How to keep pakodas crispy? To prevent the pakoras from getting soggy, my number one trick is to transfer the pakodas straight from the wok (kadhai) to a baking sheet and into a preheated oven at 100 degree celsius while the remaining pakodas are cooking. You absolutely do not need to fry the pakodas twice to help them stay crispy.
• How to reheat pakodas? My number one method is air fryer - but if you have some more time in hand, then baking them at 180 degrees for 15 mins makes them crunchy again.
• Can I make these pakodas ahead of time? Yes! If you have guests coming over, make them in advance (or even a day prior) and cook them only upto the point where the fritters mixture hit the hot oil and start taking shape and just begin to change from yellow to brown colour. Transfer to an air tight container into the fridge until 15 mins before serving, when you add them to hot oil to finish the cooking until golden brown in colour. Pakodas are best enjoyed when double fried! - there, I said it...

Looking for more burger recipes? These delicious vegetarian burgers are so yummy & easy!!! 1) beetroot & quinoa burgers, 2) mexican corn fritter burgers. 

Print