Rice Pakora or Chawal Ke Pakode is a tasty teatime snack, made with leftover cooked rice, besan, yogurt, and a few spices, and deep-fried or air-fried for crispy perfection. It is best enjoyed with warm tea on a rainy or cold wintery day.

These crispy, delicious, easy-to-make snacks are hard to resist. When I make these, they disappear quickly. I like serving them with chutney or ketchup and a cup of chai.

In India, pakora, or bhajiya, is a popular snack. There are many variations of pakoda. Every home has its recipe for making pakora. The basic ingredients aka besan (chickpea flour) remain the same.

Anytime is chai pakora time at my home. The satisfaction you get when you eat those crispy, pakora, specially on a rainy day or on a cold winter night is just out of this world.

And my kids love to dip them in sweet tamarind chutney or homemade ketchup and my hubby loves it with green chutney.

I make many variations of pakora at home, as my family loves to eat these crispy pakoras. My favorite is this Methi Pakora, I also like to make paneer pakora, mirchi bhajiya, pyaaz pakora, and many more.

I like to experiment with different ingredients and see how I can make my snacks more interesting.

Whenever we have friends over I make a huge pakora platter with all the different variations of pakora, so everyone can enjoy some.

My hubby loves Palak Pakoda, Moong Dal Pakoda, a no besan pakora recipe, and Bread Pakora.

It's raining here since last night and I was craving some crispy bhajiya. I saw some leftover rice in the refrigerator and decided to make this rice pakora.

To the cooked rice, I added a few simple ingredients like besan, and some basic spices, and deep-fried till crispy and golden in color, and my Rice Pakora was ready in no time. You can deep-fry or air-fry them too.

Next time when you have some leftover rice and want to try something new. Try this different rice pakora recipe you will keep making them again.

Learn how to make the Rice Pakora recipe, a perfect tea-time snack to serve along with Chai.

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About the recipe
Ingredients
Step By Step Recipe
Air Fryer Pakora
Serving Suggestions
Indian Snacks Recipes
Rice Pakora | Chawal Ke Pakode | Leftover Rice Pakora

About the recipe

Rice Pakora or Chawal Ke Pakode is an Indian tea-time snack which is made with cooked rice.

It is mixed with besan or chickpea flour and yogurt to make the pakora batter. Yogurt adds a slight tangy flavor to the pakora.

This mixture is then spiced with green chilies, fresh coriander leaves, fresh curry leaves, ginger, garlic, onion, red chili powder, turmeric powder, ajwain, and salt.

You can skip yogurt and add amchur powder, Chaat masala powder or anardana powder for tanginess to these leftover rice pakoras, while the green chilies add a nice kick to the pakora. Adjust the quantity to taste.

Sometimes, I even mix finely chopped fresh green garlic or spring onions into the pakora batter, as it adds a beautiful color and crunch to these crispy bhajiyas.

These pakoras are then deep fried until they form a crispy layer and turn golden brown color. You can air fry them too. See the recipe card below for air fryer instructions.

If you want to avoid deep frying the pakora, you can air fry or use a Paniyaram Pan (ebelskiver pan) to make these rice pakoras and use very little oil to make them.

So next time you have leftover rice and you need something quick and tasty, make this leftover rice snack to enjoy as an evening snack along with your tea and serve with your favorite chutney.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients used for making rice pakora:

cooked rice
yogurt
besan
onion
ginger
garlic
green chili
fresh coriander
curry leaves
ajwain
turmeric powder
salt

Step By Step Recipe

1.Mash the cooked rice well with the potato masher or using your hands.

2. Add yogurt, besan, ginger, garlic, green chili, onion, fresh coriander, fresh curry leaves, turmeric powder, ajwain, and salt to taste.

3. Combine everything well. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water or as needed to make a thick batter.

4. Heat the oil in a kadai or a wok.

5. Once the oil is hot, drop a small portion of the pakora batter in the hot oil.

6. Fry the pakoras on medium heat until golden brown and crisp.

rice pakora fried till golden brown and crispy

7. Remove the pakoras in a strainer or on a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.

Air Fryer Pakora

Preheat your air fryer as per the manufacturer's instruction manual (about 400°F for 5 minutes). Then, spray a little oil to prevent the pakoras from sticking to the surface. You can also, line the air fryer basket with parchment paper.

Pick a spoonful of batter and place it in the air fryer basket. With the back of the spoon flatten it into a patty-like shape. Make sure the pakoras don't touch each other. Do not overcrowd. Spray some oil on top.

Air fry at 350°F for 12-14 minutes. Flip the pakoras at about 9 minutes.

Once they are golden and crispy, remove them on a serving platter. Sprinkle some chaat masala. Serve hot with mint cilantro chutney or ketchup.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Rice Pakora along with Green Chutney, Sweet Tamarind Chutney, homemade ketchup, and a hot cup of Chai on the side.

They even taste great with this Mysore Masala dosa, Red Chutney. Simply add some water and thin out the red chutney for a dipping consistency.

Indian Snacks Recipes

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