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    Home » Snacks / Appetizers » Zucchini Pakoda | Pakora | Indian Style Zucchini Fritters

    Zucchini Pakoda | Pakora | Indian Style Zucchini Fritters

    Posted on April 30, 2016 · Last Updated on August 18, 2024 · By Srividhya G · 31 Comments

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    Delicious deep-fried Indian style zucchini fritters are popularly known as zucchini pakoda or pakora. Enjoy your tea/coffee time with this simple and easy to make zucchini pakoda. 

    ZucchiniPakodis

    For the last alphabet ‘Z,’ I am presenting these Zucchini Pakoras, one of kiddo’s favorite.  Zucchini Pakoras are perfect tea-time snacks or party/potluck appetizers, and it is made with zucchini(obviously), onion, and chickpea flour combined with other spices. It’s a quick fried snack that you can make under 30 minutes.

    As I wrote a lengthy post for the past two days (Xanthan Gum and Yam Roast), I thought I will keep this post short and sweet err savory. :-)

    In Tamil, zucchinis are known as Seemai Suraikai. zucchini is a versatile veggie like potatoes and it aptly fits in any cuisine.

    As I mentioned in my first post of this BM journey, I wanted to cover all the meals and menu items of TN cuisine as much as I can. Pakoras are one of the popular items in a roadside tea stall. You can find thool pakoda, onion pakoda and many other varieties. 

    ZucchiniPakoda

    The addition of fennel seeds gives a nice masala flavor to this pakoda. Also, rice flour adds crispiness and baking soda helps in puffing up the pakoda while frying.

    For this recipe, I didn’t use much water. Zucchini has a lot of water content and I didn’t squeeze the water from the grated zucchini. I used the zucchini water to mix the batter. Do not let the batter sit for a long time. Fry the pakoda right away as zucchini oozes out a lot of water.

    Without any further delay, here is the recipe for Z – zucchini pakoda.    

    ZucchniPakoras

    Zucchini Pakoda Recipe with Step-Wise Pictures-

    Ingredients:

    • Zucchini – 1
    • Chopped Onion – ¼ cup
    • Besan/Chick Pea Flour –  1 cup
    • Rice flour – 1 tbsp.
    • Baking Soda – ½ tsp
    • Salt – 1 tsp
    • Red chili powder – 1 tsp
    • Fennel Seeds – 1 tsp
    • Water – 3 to 4 tbsps
    • Oil – for frying

    Prep Work:

    ZucchiniPakorasBatter1

    • Sift the besan/chickpea flour.
    • Peel the zucchini skin and grate them.
    • Finely chop the onions and we need about ¼ cup of chopped onions.

    Steps:

    • In the pan or kadai heat the oil for frying in medium flame. Meanwhile, you can prepare the batter.
    • In a wide bowl, add the besan/chickpea flour, salt, red chili powder, rice flour, baking soda, fennel seeds, chopped onion, and grated zucchini. (Everything except water and oil)

    ZucchiniPakorasBatter2

    • Do not add water initially. Mix them well. The water from zucchini will help to bind and bring all the ingredients together. If you feel, the batter is still thick, drizzle some water and mix again.

    ZucchiniPakarosBatter3

    • Once the oil is hot, take a small portion of the batter and slowly drop it in oil. In one batch I tried up to 4 small Pakoras.
    • Let them fry till they turn golden brown or until the oil bubble sound ceases.

    ZucchiniPakorasFrying

    • Take them out and let them sit in the tissue paper to remove the excess oil.
    • Repeat the same with the remaining batter.

    ZucchiniPakora

    That’s it. Yummy pakodas are ready. I served this with ketchup. You can also serve this with peanut chutney or coconut chutney

    Recipe Notes-

    • Adjust the salt and spice according to your preference.
    • Make sure the oil is medium heat before frying. This ensures soft, crispy, and well-cooked pakodas.
    • Do not let the batter sit for a long time. Fry the pakoda right away as zucchini oozes out a lot of water.
    • Also if you feel the batter is soggy, add more rice flour or chickpea flour. In that case, adjust the salt and spice.
    • Fennel seeds and baking soda are optional.
    • If you are adding water, just drizzle and mix the batter.
    • Other veggies can be added to prepare mixed vegetable pakoras.

    📖 Recipe

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    5 from 1 vote

    Zucchini Pakoda | Pakora | Indian Style Zucchini Fritters

    Delicious deep-fried Indian style zucchini fritters are popularly known as zucchini pakoda or pakora. Enjoy your tea/coffee time with this simple and easy to make zucchini pakoda. 
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: Indian
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 193kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Equipment

    • Mixing bowl and fry pan

    Ingredients

    • 1 Zucchini grated
    • ¼ cup Onion chopped
    • 1 cup Chickpeas flour Besan
    • 1 tbsp Rice flour
    • ½ tsp Baking Soda
    • 1 tsp Salt
    • 1 tsp Red chili powder
    • 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
    • 3 tbsp Water use only if required
    • ½ cup Oil or as required for frying

    Instructions

    Prep Work

    • Sift the besan/chickpea flour.
    • Peel the zucchini skin and grate them.
    • Finely chop the onions and we need about ¼ cup of chopped onions.

    Steps

    • In the pan or kadai heat the oil for frying in medium flame. Meanwhile you can prepare the batter.
    • In a wide bowl, add the besan/chickpea flour, salt, red chili powder, rice flour, baking soda, fennel seeds, chopped onion, and grated zucchini. (Everything except water and oil)
    • Do not add water initially. Mix them well. The water from zucchini will help to bind and bring all the ingredients together. If you feel, the batter is still thick, drizzle some water and mix again.
    • Once the oil is hot, take small portion of the batter and slowly drop it in oil. In one batch I tried up to 4 small Pakoras.
    • Let them fry till they turn golden brown or until the oil bubble sound ceases.
    • Take them out and let it sit in the tissue paper to remove the excess oil.
    • Repeat the same with the remaining batter.
    • That’s it. Yummy pakodas are ready. I served this with ketchup. You can also serve this with coconut chutney.

    Notes

    • Adjust the salt and spice according to your preference.
    • Make sure the oil is medium heat before frying. This ensures soft, crispy, and well-cooked pakodas.
    • Do not let the batter sit for a long time. Fry the pakoda right away as Zucchini oozes out a lot of water.
    • Also if you feel the batter is soggy, add more rice flour or chickpea flour. In that case, adjust the salt and spice.
    • Fennel seeds and baking soda are optional.
    • If you are adding water, just drizzle and mix the batter.
    • Other veggies can be added to prepare mixed vegetable pakoras.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 387mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 149IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
    BM#63  A-ZChallengeBadge
     

     

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    Filed Under: Blogging Marathon, Snacks / Appetizers, Vegetables, Zucchini Tagged With: A-Z Challenge, Blogging Marathon, how to prepare zucchini pakoda, seemai suraikai pakoda, under 30 minutes, zucchini onion pakora, zucchini pakodi

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Smruti | Herbivore Cucina says

      May 16, 2016 at 10:59 am

      Zucchini is certainly the hero for Z. Your pakodas look so amazing. I could finish them all with a mug of hot chai!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 16, 2016 at 4:10 pm

        Thanks a lot.. :-)

        Reply
    2. priya says

      May 11, 2016 at 6:19 am

      great innovation… love this pakora and will try it soon

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 11, 2016 at 7:28 am

        Thanks Priya :-)

        Reply
    3. Mullai Madavan says

      May 10, 2016 at 5:46 pm

      Good one Vidya, love the zucchini pakoda with a cup of tea! I use to make pakoda with zucchini flowers, never attempted with the veggie…. ok, now on my list to try!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 11, 2016 at 7:31 am

        Thanks pa. wow zucchini flowers? Amazing mullai. Can we find it here?

        Reply
    4. Vaishali Sabnani says

      May 06, 2016 at 6:29 am

      Delicious pakoras, perfect choice for the alphabet. It was great running this marathon with you.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 06, 2016 at 7:58 am

        Thanks a lot Vaishali.

        Reply
    5. Bharani says

      May 04, 2016 at 5:14 am

      looks crispy and tasty…. and its a new kind of pokoda…..

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 04, 2016 at 9:38 am

        Thanks Bharani. :-)

        Reply
    6. Amara says

      May 03, 2016 at 9:31 pm

      That’s an amazing idea Srividhya. Love those crispy pakodas anytime:)

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 04, 2016 at 9:39 am

        Thanks a lot Amara.

        Reply
    7. harini says

      May 03, 2016 at 8:12 pm

      An addictive snack indeed. Zucchini is the popular choice.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 04, 2016 at 9:45 am

        Thanks and yes Harini. Zucchini ruled the day.

        Reply
    8. Pavani says

      May 03, 2016 at 1:18 pm

      Zucchini pakoda is quite an innovative and interesting dish. Nice pick for the letter Z.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 04, 2016 at 10:00 am

        Thanks Pavani.

        Reply
    9. sapana behl says

      May 01, 2016 at 3:47 pm

      Zucchini pakoda looks so crispy and tasty.Nice choice and wonderful series for the marathon.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 01, 2016 at 4:11 pm

        Thanks a lot Sapana. :-)

        Reply
    10. swapnakarthik says

      May 01, 2016 at 4:40 am

      Nice evening snack, will try it sometime Vidya…

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 01, 2016 at 4:23 pm

        Thanks a lot Swapna. Please do try.

        Reply
    11. Priya Suresh says

      May 01, 2016 at 2:14 am

      Wow,those pakoras will definitely satisfy my crave for deep fried foods, never knew that Seemai suraikai is the tamil name of Zucchini and simply loved all your dishes for this marathon.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 01, 2016 at 4:21 pm

        Thanks a lot Priya. :-)

        Reply
    12. Gayathri Kumar says

      April 30, 2016 at 8:11 pm

      Didn’t know that zucchini has a Tamil name. The pakoras are so crispy and would make a nice snack with a cup of coffee.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:41 pm

        Thanks Gayathri.

        Reply
    13. Suma Gandlur says

      April 30, 2016 at 3:10 pm

      If they have a Tamil name, does that mean zucchini were available in India in the past too?
      BTW, these zucchini fritters make an awesome teatime snack. Loved your interesting Tamil recipes this marathon.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:40 pm

        Not exactly. These days you can find them in India too. When I went through couple of food books, they just provided the name and I didn’t see any reference to being used in the past. Need to dig more.. Thanks a lot suma.

        Reply
    14. usha says

      April 30, 2016 at 10:28 am

      I never tried Indian fritters with zucchini. It is a nice idea and should try it sometime.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:38 pm

        Thanks a lot Usha. Please do try… :-)

        Reply
    15. Srivalli says

      April 30, 2016 at 8:01 am

      What a wonderful choice srividhya! I am sure these pakoras would have been do delicious. I enjoyed all your posts for this marathon very good efforts.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:35 pm

        Thanks a lot Valli. :-)

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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