These crispy golden brown Onion Pakodas are cooked to perfection in the air fryer! Seasoned with turmeric, coriander, fresh cilantro, chillies, they make the perfect snack to be enjoyed with a cup of chai!
Take 1 large red onion (around 250 grams) and slice into thin slices. They don't need to be super thin but they shouldn't be thick. Transfer the slices into a large bowl and separate them while doing so.
Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt and using your hand massage the onion slices. Don't smash them whole doing so, just massage gently for 2 minutes. This helps in releasing moisture from the onions.Cover the bowl with a plate and let it sit for 10 minutes for the onions to release moisture.
While the onions are resting, heat a pan on medium heat. Then add 1/2 cup besan to it and dry roast the besan for around 4 minutes until it's fragrant. You want to get rid of that raw smell and taste of besan. Remove pan from heat and transfer besan to another plate. This step is optional and you can use besan straightaway but I recommend roasting the besan for better flavor.
After 10 minutes, remove the plate. The onions would have released moisture by now. To the bowl now add the roasted besan along with- 1 tablespoon rice flour, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro,1 to 2 chopped green chili, 1/4 teaspoon ajwain, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder and pinch garam masala.
Also, add 1 teaspoon oil. I have used avocado oil here, you can use any oil of choice. This helps in keeping pakoda soft from the inside.
Start adding water little by little so that all the onion slices get well coated with the spices and seasonings.You don't want a thin batter, it should be thick. You can need anywhere around 3 to 5 tablespoons water (start with 3 and then add more as needed).
Pre-heat your air fryer according to manufacturer's instructions. Then spray with a non-stick spray so that the pakodas don't stick to the plate.
Hold some of the batter in your hands and then drop on the air fryer plate. You can make bigger or smaller pakodas. You would get around 7 to 8 big pakodas from this batter, more if you make these smaller. You may spray them with oil spray at this point (optional). Air fry at 340 F degrees for 10 minutes.
Then open the air fryer, spray the pakodas with oil spray again. You must spray with oil at this point. Now, air fry at 400 F degrees for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve them hot with chutney!
Video
Notes
Using a little bit of rice flour helps in making these pakodas crispy.
I highly recommend roasting the besan (gram flour) in this recipe. Sure, you can use it straight away but your pakodas will taste so much better if you roast the besan for 4 to 5 minutes until the raw smell goes away and then use in the recipe.
Do not skip on the 1 teaspoon of oil in the pakoda batter, it makes them softer/lighter from inside.
Every air fryer is different so you may need to adjust the time and temperature accordingly.
Do not over-crowd your air fryer when placing these pakodas into the basket. They should all be in single layer and have enough space between them.
Make sure to spray the basket with oil spray before placing the pakodas inside else they might stick to the air fryer basket and it will be difficult to take them out. You can alternatively also use parchment paper (with holes) to prevent sticking.
Make sure to spray the pakodas with oil spray once they are cooked at the 10 minutes mark. Before air frying them at higher temperature, a spray of oil makes them nice golden brown in color and crunchy. Do not skip this step.