Ulli Pakodi – Crispy Onion Fritters
For most for us Indians, the perfect and comforting food during cold weathers or rainy season is a very popular and comforting Indian snack, Pakoda or Pakodi. Best enjoyed over a hot cup of tea, the cripsy and spicy Pakodi makes tea time something special, almost like a bonding time between family and friends.
Its not just cold weather or rains which makes me crave for pakodas, I can have them all year around as they are not only tasty but can be prepared in a jiffy and with ingredients which are usually available in the pantry…:)
Prepared from a batter of besan (bengal gram flour), rice flour, onions, curry leaves and green chillis, Pakodas are deep fried till they attain a beautiful golden brown color. Both soft pakodas and hard pakodis (known as gatti pakodi in telugu) can be prepared from the same batter and its the texture of the batter which makes them soft or hard.
Go to any busy street corner in a town or city and one is sure to find streets (be it a small town or city) lined by hawkers, cooking the food right before your eyes and selling hot pakodis. Here in Andhra, a popular snack which sells very well is the the crispy variety of pakodi known as gatti ulli pakodi, where the batter is prepared by using very little water. The less water used to mix the flours, the harder the batter is, to prepare crisp gatti pakodi which can be stored in air tight containers for a few days.
Ulli Pakodi Recipe
Prep & Cooking Time: 30 mts
Cuisine: Andhra
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1 1/2 cups besan (gram dal flour)
½ cup rice flour
4-5 green chillis, finely chopped
2 large onions, sliced
2 spring onions (optional)
2 tbsp melted ghee (clarified butter)
few sprigs curry leaves
salt to taste
pinch of baking soda
oil for deep frying
1 Combine both the flours with salt, soda, green chillis, curry leaves and onions. Add the melted ghee and mix well with fingers. Combine well till u have a crumbly texture.
2 Add few tablespoons of water and mix well that it forms a hard batter. Don’t add too much water.
3 Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan. It should be piping hot. Use your fingers to drop the batter in the oil to form small fritters. Reduce heat to medium and deep fry till they turn golden brown. Use a ladle to keep turning the fritters so that it cooks on all sides.
4 Once they turn golden brown, remove them on to absorbent paper. Store in air tight containers and serve as evening snacks over a hot cup of masala chai (spiced tea).
Note:
You dont need to add spring onions for preparing gatti pakodi. I used them for added flavor. The quantity of rice flour can also be reduced to one fourth cup. The softer variety of pakodi can be prepared by omitting rice flour and adding more water to the pakodi batter which should be more like a thick dosa batter.
By Sailu • Sep 4th, 2006 • Category: All Recipes, Andhra Recipes, Appetizers & Starter Recipes, Flour Recipes, Savories, Snacks, Chaat & Tiffin Recipes
Wow! wonderful looking pakoda…we both love all sorts of fritters and have this often with chithranna/curd rice…Arent we all lucky to have such immense variety in our cuisine?!!
You can say that AGAIN!! Lucky we are indeed..:):)
Hi Sailu,
Crispy Pakora with hot Masala Tea!!!! No words to say!!!Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Your most welcome..:):)
Hi Sailaja, you have just given one of my fav. snacks of all! Thank you so much!! Looks so yummy, I might steal that recipe and make some today, hope you don’t mind.. I will be back for more…
Its raining here and you are tempting me to make this. Looks delicious !
Those look so good they are evil
Looks wonderful Sailu! Can hardly wait for cool weather so I can dig out the deep fryer
Hi Sailu,
Onion pakodas look wonderful.I love this for evening snack..
My husband was asking me for a long time to prepare this.. After seeing ur pakodas only I remember .. Will surely give it a try.
Sailu, the pakodas look mouthwatering. I will follow your recipe next time. Thanks for sharing.
Every time it rains here, I crave for these pakodi’s with some hot tea, and if the three of us roommates are at home, we more often than not end up making them. They are so easy to make and soo delicious that there is no room for any hesitaion
I add a little Rava to the batter for added crispness 
Ulli pakodilu chaala baavunnai Sailaja!
This is the same recipe that I got from my mother bar the spring onions. They do make the rainy season come alive, don’t they?
Hi Sailaja,
Ulli pakoda looks great!!..want to have one.This is all time favourite for me and my family members.Thanks for sharing
wow, the pakoras are mouthwatering. a cup of garam chai and this is the perfect evening
Yum..yum.. Sailaja.. Your ulli pakodi looks so good. My mom adds some jeera powder and garam masala for added kick..
Sailu,
Gorgeous! Delicious!!! I love onion, and even love deep-fried food more. I’m not sure if I have a chance to get gram dal flour and curry leaves, but will bear in mind your lovely recipe! Just curious, how cold it will be during the winter?
Sailu; I’ve only now come to your new and beautiful website…I absolutely love it!
I’ve been busy, so I just haven’t been checking everyone’s blogs the way I used to. Tonight, I was re-visiting old favorites, and found that you’d moved.
Well, I’m truly impressed. It just looks wonderful!
Trust me Sailu– I was thinking about these Pakoda’s few days back and was wondering how to make these– I usually make only with besan flour and I like these ones. In India, we buy these pakoda’s from stores and have it for tea. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe:)
Sailu, Yummy recipe, and really mouth-watering pics
Hi sailu,
The music is awesome
Thank you, Arun..:)
The pakoda’s look so yummy…it reminds me of the days in chennai, when i used to pester vinodh to get them home during evenings..sailu pls dont mind me..im gonna take most of them right now from the bowl..ok…:-)
oooh, it was raining here forever and pakoda was just the thing i was craving. i do add a little ajwain or jeera and red chilli powder to it. thanks.
Great site, but pardon my ignorance when I ask what exactly is a “cup” of anything? Is it the standard American measure of 8 oz/236ml?
thanks!
Manoj
Sailaja,
i tagged you..do check my blog..thank you!!
Looks yummy… I tried onion pakora lot of times with utter flop. This weekend i have a party at home. I’m gonna try your recipe.
Nice job
Regards
Vijaya
Its so tempting. After seeing your item, I feel like wanting to make it immediately….it looks v.cripsy too…yummy yummy….
Its very nice, my baby likes it.Thank U very much.
Hi Sailu………
these pakodas are my all time fav, but due to some health problem i am adviced not to have besan………so i tried with wheat flour……..it was good…….jus make a try
Awesome recipe! My husband loves these and even cudn’t stop asking for more and more… Thanks so much for this one!
delicious!!!!!!!!!
I like ulli pakoda with a cup of hot tea.
awesome combination on this season…..
Sailuuuu, those pictures are soooooo tempting. Now, the first question on my mind when I see these pictures is “Are you a trained photographer or are these pics taken by a professional photographer?” Those pictures are that good. I can’t complete this message with out mentioning your taste, the way you arrange things, the appropriate dishes you use for pics in each recipe and the most tempting part is the “Muddalu” you make at the end of the recipe.
“The less water used to mix the flours, the harder the batter is, to prepare crisp gatti pakodi which can be stored in air tight containers for a few days.” This is very useful tip. Eventhough I used to make pakodis, I followed this tip the last time I make them and they turned out very well. Thanks for the good recipes.
Mamtha, honestly, my food photography has a long way to go …. and yes, I have taken the pics myself and am not trained. Thanks for your kind and encouraging words. A lot of time and effort goes into it and I enjoy it very much..:)
Hi Sailaja,
I have been searching for this recipe for quite sometime now. I haven’t found anything closer to what I had tasted back in India. Your Pakadoa recipe and Pakodas look very close to what I used to have in India. Will try it this weekend…
Thanks a lot
1-12-07
As I promised…. I have tried them and they came out perfect…. I could not stop eating….Thank you very much for sharing this recipe with all of us…
Sailu….
Thanks for wonderful and most wanted recipe for andhrities.
today itself i am preparing it……………….hurrey…..
Hey Sailu,
Just wanted to Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe.
I end up making this as an appetizer or snack whenever I have guests.
Hi,
Good snack for tea time,hope will come out good,i am going to try today……Hey thx bye the way for the same
hi,
this recipe seems authentic south indian onion pakodi. i will try it, thanks for such simple and nice recipes.
Awesome recipe! My husband loves these. Thanks so much for this one!
It tastes better with tomato pachadi
Hi Sailu,
Thanks alot for ur ulli pakodi recipe. Really i enoyed the taste of it.It tastes gud with groundnut chutney.
I like your recipe and seems tasty…will try today itself..thanks!
Just made these using yours and myrasoi’s recipe. They turned out excellent. very crispy. I used to make a mistake of adding water. this time i did not add any water. thanks for the tips. HAts off to all u bloggers who make our life more delicious and yummy
[...] follow Sailu’s Ulli Pakodis recipe to the T. I have made it numerous times now and it has never failed me! People always wonder [...]
Looks tempting… I always love onion pakodis… Thanks for this wonderful recipe… will try it…
Sailu, those look really yummy. Thanks for the recipe. I am an ardent fan of your cooking and the way you present them.
Sailu,I really love your blog.Your receipes with tempting photographs are really a heavenly experience.Keep it up.I will definitely try this Kanda Bhajjias very soon.Thank You.
I tried these pakodi it was so yummy yummy.
Thanks a lot for the receipe
Sailu, excellent recipe! We made these to eat while watching the cricket match and Wimbledon today and they were an instant hit!! Thanks
Wow!! They look yummy. You are a legend. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Sailu,
I normally follow ur recipe for this ulli pakoras..and we love it.Thank u so much.I do a minor change in the way of cooking.I am gonna post the recipe in few days,with the link back to ur original post.
Thanks again.
Keep up ur good work going
[...] than the peppers, I thought of Sailu’s yummy ulli pakodi, but after a lazy weekend with little shopping, discovered I didn’t have one fresh onion in [...]
I tried Ulli Pakodi…Its delicious…Thanks for the recipe