Palak Paneer Pakoras with Chutney (Baked and Air Fryer)

This easy palak paneer pakora recipe is filled with spiced spinach, potatoes, red onions, paneer and served with a perfect yoghurt-mint chutney. Whether you have it on the side with some rice and dhall or in the afternoon with some chai, it is mouth wateringly good!

I am going to show you how to make these crispy spinach pakoras as both baked and air fryer variations. They come out so crispy and delicious without deep frying, but still packed with lots of flavour and of course, using substantially less oil.

Of course, if you would prefer to fry them in a deep or shallow fry, I have an Instagram reel and tik tok up, that will show you exactly how to do that.

What are pakoras?

The English translation of the hindi word, ‘Pakode’ is ‘fritters’ and around South Asia, it is sometimes referred to as ‘pakore’, ‘bhajiya’, ‘bhaji’ etc. It is quite simply a spiced vegetable batter (sometimes also including meat) that is often deep fried and served as a snack with karak chai (head over to my iced chai or iced chai latte recipe if you want something cold), as an appetizer, or even as the side to your main meal with some dhall or your choice of curry.

It’s one of the most popular Indian snacks probably for its crispy outer layer, well-balanced spice and versatility. You can literally chop and change my recipe according to what you do and don’t like.

Don’t like potatoes? Ok, replace them with carrots. Don’t like spinach? Ok try cabbage instead! That’s the beauty of pakora’s, you make them how you like (air fried, baked, deep fried) with what you like and these palak paneer ones, are exactly how I like mine!

I am using spinach leaves, potatoes, paneer, red onions, green chilli and coriander in mine!

What is paneer? Why palak paneer pakoras?

Paneer is a non-melting Indian cheese and just in case you haven’t tried it before, think of Halloumi as its European relative that resembles its texture quite closely. Paneer though, unlike halloumi, isn’t salty and flavour will have to be added to it.

Why palak paneer pakoras? Why not! As I say, you can literally add anything to pakoras, be creative with them. This is a family favourite and my mother’s recipe.

If you don’t like paneer or are vegan, tofu would be an excellent substitute too. You would probably have to be careful when you are mixing the tofu into the batter though as it its crumblier than paneer.

How to make the paneer pakora batter?

The most important part of this recipe is the batter, getting this right means that your pakora won’t fall apart in the process of cooking.

I used about four table spoons of flour in this recipe and that was enough according to the amount of ingredients I used.

If you are using more or less, make sure that you use enough so that you can make small balls that actually stick together.

The air fryer version

If you want to make this recipe in the air fryer, follow these steps. I am using the Ninja Foodi Dual Air Fryer, so adapt according to the machine that you are using!

1. Line your air fryer up with baking paper.
2. Drizzle around a half tablespoon of oil (more or less depending on how crispy you would like them, the more oil you use the crispier they will be). I wouldn’t use beyond a full tablespoon though. Use an oil that doesn’t have a super strong smell or taste, olive oil would be fine here for example.
3. Add in your pakora balls. You can make them big or small but, below are the temperatures for small to medium sized pakora balls.
4. Set the air fryer function to bake and set the temp to around 160°C for around 20 – 30 minutes. Allow the pakoras to cook through and then halfway through the timer, give them a flip.
5. Place the air fryer on the ‘Air fryer’ mode at 200°C for a further 10 minutes and wait for them to get lovely and crispy.
6. Let them rest for 10 minutes before you serve.

The oven-baked version

1. Line your baking dish with baking paper. A low baking dish works well here as opposed to a deep one.
2. Drizzle a full tablespoon of oil on your baking paper, ensure it is evenly spread out.
3. Add in your pakora balls. You can make them big or small but, below are the temperatures for small to medium sized pakora balls.
4. Set the oven temp to around 180°C for 30 minutes. Allow the pakoras to cook through and then halfway through the timer, give them a flip.
5. Raise the heat of the oven to 200°C for a further 15 to 20 minutes and wait for them to get lovely and crispy. Flip so that they get crispy on both sides!
6. Let them rest for around 10 minutes before you serve.

How to make the chutney?

This is a super easy and simple yoghurt-mint dipping sauce to go with your pakora. Follow these steps below to make it at home:

1. Peel 3 cloves of garlic and roughly chop them up. Also roughly chop up your mint leaves.
2. In a blender add two tbsp of yoghurt, half of your chopped garlic cloves and all of your mint leaves. Give that a blend so that the garlic, mint and yoghurt are mixed together well.
3. In a bowl put together four tablespoons of plain yoghurt, add your blended mint-yoghurt sauce and mix together well.
4. (Optional, for garnish and if you want to be fancy) For the desi chilli-oil, heat together some olive oil in a pan, add in two dried chilli’s, some chilli powder and a little bit of turmeric. Once combined well and toasted, top your chutney off with the oil. You can also garnish the chutney with chopped coriander or mint, this gives it a nice pop of colour!

If you would prefer a sweet chutney then you could totally try my sweet tomato chutney instead, here and if you’re in the mood for something else that’s crispy and delicious, then my aubergine fry is so satisfyingly crispy too!