These oil-free, vegan Jackfruit Pakoras make a great finger food or appetizer for an Indian-inspired dinner. Serve them with ketchup or your favorite chutney.
Hands up if you love Indian food! My love for indian food arose during my time as an Au Pair in the US, as my former host parents are originally from India. Every other night my host mum served up some indian deliciousness like rajma and dhal.
On the weekends she would also sometimes make pakoras. Pakoras are usually made from vegetables that are dipped in a batter of chickpea flour and various spices and fried afterwards. I am not a big fan of fried food but I was never able to resist when pakoras were served.
What Is Jackfruit?
For this non-fried pakora recipe I am using jackfruit. Jackfruit is a large, tropcial fruit. Ripe jackfruit has a waxy texture and sweet taste. When unripe (like the jackfruit found in cans), its texture is more fibrous and the flavour more neutral. We use this canned young jackfruit this recipe.
Check out your local Asian stores or search online if you can't find canned jackfruit in the stores you usually shop at.
Ingredient Notes
You don't need a lot of ingredients for making vegan pakoras.
- Canned Jackfruit - As mentioned above, we use unripe, canned jackfruit. Canned jackfruit can sometimes be a bit sour so rinse well and - if you have the time and patience - cook it in salted water for about 10 min. Then drain.
- Chickpea Flour - You can also use gram flour (also called besan) for these vegetable pakoras. Chickpea flour or garbanzo bean flour is milled using whole white chickpeas Besan or gram flour on the other hand is made of ground split brown chickpeas (chana dal).
- Spices - The most important flavour components for these pakoras as they are not deep-fried. Turmeric, ground coriander and cumin, a bit of cayenne, ginger and you are good to go.
- Vegan Joghurt - Provides some moisture to the batter. Use an unsweetened joghurt of your choice.
The great thing about this recipe is that the jackfruit pakoras are not fried but baked. They are also gluten-free and - thanks to the chickpea flour - have a decent amount of protein. So dig in without regrets!
My boyfriend and I really enjoy them dipped in ketchup (not very Indian, I know), but if you have time whip up some fresh chutney or opt for a store-bought one.
More Indian-Inspired Dishes
Ready for more Indian flavours? Then try these recipes:
I hope you’ll give this oil-free, gluten-free and vegan Jackfruit Pakoras a try. If you love this recipe, be sure to leave a comment, rate the recipe and tag me on instagram (#veggiejam) with your recreation.
PrintRecipe
Baked Jackfruit Pakoras
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
These oil-free, vegan Jackfruit Pakoras make a great finger food or appetizer for an Indian-inspired dinner. Serve them with ketchup or your favorite chutney.
Ingredients
- 1 can jackfruit, drained
- 1 ¼ cup chickpea flour (140 g)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp minced ginger
- 3 tbsp vegan yogurt, unsweetened (80 g)
- 200-250 ml water (¾ - 1 cup)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the drained jackfruit for about 10-15 min.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- Combine the remaining ingredients and stir till you get a slightly thick batter - start with 200 ml water and add more if the batter seems too thick. Put aside.
- Now pat the cooked jackfruit dry with a paper towel and cut into smaller pieces if necessary. Then dip the pieces into the pakora batter and put onto a baking sheet.
- Bake the pakoras for approximately 15 min until golden brown.
- Serve warm with ketchup or chutney.
This post is also available in German (Deutsch).
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