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Home » Appetizers & Snacks

Shishito Pepper Pakora (Fritters)

Published: Sep 6, 2022 by Tanvi · This post may contain affiliate links

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This gluten- free shishito pepper recipe features deep- fried peppers coated in a traditional indian pakora batter made with besan (gram flour), herbs and spices. Crunchy & spicy these pepper fritters are addictive!

Serve these pakoras with a creamy garlicky dipping sauce (recipe included).

Shishito Pepper Pakora Recipe with creamy yogurt dip placed on a black plate on a white background.

I love ordering blistered shishito peppers at sushi restaurants. It is one of the most addictive things with a perfect balance of salty smoky and spicy.

This summer, I tried making these shishito pepper fritters, on the lines of traditional mirchi pakora recipe - a super exciting and popular indian street food of chillis coated in batter and deep fried and viola, we are hooked!

Shishito peppers are mild and I feel they are just perfect in this recipe. I can adjust the heat by adding more chilli flakes to the batter depending of whether my 9 year old (who btw loves them) is eating these or my husband. These pakoras will become a crowd favorite!

These are crunchy on the outside and while they fry, the pepper plumps up resulting is a soft juicy center, an absolutely wonderful melange of textures to sink your teeth into!

What are Shishito Peppers?

Shishito are Japanese small mild peppers. They have a unique slender shape and are bright green in color. Overall,their flavor is sweet and smoky- they are hotter than bell peppers, however milder than jalapeños. One out of 10 peppers may turn out spicy, but largely they dont come hot and are a wonderful for making appetizers, salsas or here like me- pakoras!

While buying, make sure that the pepper are bright green in color and are crisp- to -touch with spot free skins. Avoid if the peppers feel soft or are yellow colored.

About this recipe

Pakoras/Bhajia = Fritters. Pakoras are one of the most popular indian snack / street food and are made with vegetables, paneer as well as chicken or fish. To make pakoras, a spiced gluten free batter is made with besan or gram flour and then spices like turmeric, coriander seeds, cumin, red chilli powder etc are added to it. The pakora batter recipe differs from home to home in terms of spices and flavors that are added and it is easily customizable. Add chopped green chilies, ginger and garlic or herbs of choice if you wish.

Here, for this shishito pepper recipe, I make a basic pakora batter with crunch of coriander and ajwain (carrot) seeds and pep it up with red chilli flakes. Since my mom always adds kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), I add that too. Kasuri methi is a special flavorful dried herb that goes in many north indian dishes like butter chicken or tandoori chicken. However if you dont have it, skip it!

I add a little bit of rice flour as well to make the fritters crunchy, semolina or cornmeal are other options if you dont have rice flour at hand.

This recipe is

  • gluten free and plant based
  • easy and needs few ingredients
  • can be served in many different ways - pull out the stems and add to wraps or tacos
  • Super delicous & addictive!
Jump to:
  • What are Shishito Peppers?
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Some Tips
  • Shishito Pepper Pakora (Fritters)

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe :-

  • Shishito Peppers

For the Pakora Batter

  • Besan - Known as gram flour. You can substitute with fine ground chickpea pea flour if you cannot get besan.
  • Rice Flour- Unsweetened, non glutinous. Or use semolina, cornmeal. Adding this makes the pakoras crispy.
  • Spices - I use cumin powder, chilli flakes, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coarsely ground coriander seeds and pinch of carrot seeds.Skip or add any spices you like.
  • Herbs - I use fresh chopped cilantro and dried kasuri methi. Finely chopped chives, scallions or dill leaves will taste great too.
  • Other Ingredients - Salt, Oil for deep frying.

For The Yogurt Dip

  • Plain greek yogurt, herbs of choice, Garlic, lemon Juice and salt

Instructions

Prepare the Shishito Peppers

Thoroughly wash the peppers and dry them. I usually spread them on a kitchen towel and let air dry for an hour or so. You can dry by rubbing with paper or kitchen towel if you are in a hurry.

Gram Flour & Rice flour with fresh spices and herbs in a blue plate.
Pakora batter with ribbon like consistency.

Make The Pakora Batter

In a bowl, add sifted gram flour. Add the spices and herbs. Slowly add water and whisk to make a ribbon consistency batter. The batter should be on the thickish side so that it coats the pepper well without sliding down. But, at the same time the coating should not be too thick else it will remain raw during frying. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes.

Deep Fry the Pakoras

  • Dip the peppers one by one into the batter, move around to coat nicely, pick up and let excess batter drain for few seconds and carefully, drop into the hot oil.
  • Fry on medium heat on both sides until the coating is browned and crispy.
  • Sprinkle some seasoned salt or chaat masala on top and serve.
Shishito Pepper dipped in the fritter batter.
Deep frying pepper pakora.

How To Make the Shishito Pepper Dipping sauce

In my opinion, these pair great with any kind of creamy sauce. i usually go for yogurt based. In a small blender jar, blitz together the roughly chopped garlic and herbs with 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt. Pour into a bowl and add the rest of the yogurt, salt and lemon juice.

Pro Tip:- Just use a little bit of yogurt to aid in grinding the herbs and garlic. And then hand mix or whisk the rest of yogurt - this makes sure that the dip remains thick and creamy. Blitzing all of it together makes the yogurt watery.

Dipping Shishito Fritter in yogurt dip.

Some Tips

  • Make sure that the peppers are dry before you dunk them in the batter.
  • The batter coating should not be too thick or too thin. Too thick coating will not get cooked properly and absorb a lot of oil.
  • Fry on medium heat. If you fry to too high, the peppers won't get a chance to plump up. If you fry on very low heat, they will absorb oil.
  • While frying, some of the peppers might pop, so be careful.
  • This recipe will also work with any kind of mild peppers like padron or guindilla peppers.
  • Dont leave out the batter for too long else the pakoras will start absorbing oil.
Shishito Pepper Pakora Recipe Featured Image.

Shishito Pepper Pakora (Fritters)

Shishito Pepper Recipe featuring deep fried peppers coated in a traditional indian spiced gram flour pakora batter.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American, Indian
Servings 4
Calories 197 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 8 oz Shishito Peppers

For The Pakora Batter

  • 1.5 cup besan gram flour
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder or paprika
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds coarsely crushed
  • Pinch ajwain carrom seeds
  • 1.5 teaspoon red chilli flakes adjust to taste
  • 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves crushed between palms, skip if not available
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped or any kind of fresh herbs you like
  • ¾ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • ¾ to 1 cup water for making a ribbon consistency batter
  • 2-3 cup oil for frying

For The Yogurt Dipping Sauce (Makes extra)

  • ¾ cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • A small bunch of fresh herbs (U used cilantro & mint)
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

Prepare the Shishito Peppers 

  • Thoroughly rinse the shishito peppers and dry them. I usually spread them on a kitchen towel and let air dry for an hour or so. You can dry by rubbing with paper or kitchen towel if you are in a hurry. Keep the stems intact.

Make the Pakora Batter

  • In a large bowl, add sifted gram flour. Add all the spices and herbs along with salt. Now slowly start adding water with one hand and whisking to make a batter. Add water in intervals and incorporate before adding again to avoid lumps.
  • The batter should be slightly on the thick side (ribbon consistency) so that it coats the pepper well without sliding down. At the same time the coating should not be too thick else it will remain raw during frying. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes. 

Make The Dipping Sauce

  • In a small blender jar, blitz together the roughly chopped garlic and herbs with 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt. Pour into a bowl and add the rest of the yogurt, salt and lemon juice. Whisk well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
    Pro Tip:- Just use a little bit of yogurt to aid in grinding the herbs and garlic. And then hand mix the rest of yogurt - this makes sure that the dip remains thick and creamy. Blitzing all of it together makes the yogurt watery. 

Deep Fry the Pakoras

  • Dip the peppers one by one into the batter, move around to coat nicely(use stem of the paper to hold), pick up and let excess batter drain for few seconds and carefully, slide into the hot oil. 
  • Fry on medium heat on both sides until the coating is browned and crispy. About 3-4 minutes for first side, the second side cooks quickly- about 2 minutes.
  • Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle some seasoned salt or chaat masala on top. Serve.

Notes

  • Make sure that the peppers are dry before you dunk them in the batter.
  • The batter coating should not be too thick or too thin. Too thick of a coating will not get cooked properly and absorb a lot of oil.
  • Fry on medium heat. If you fry to too high, the peppers won't get a chance to plump up. If you fry on very low heat, they will absorb oil.
  • While frying, some of the peppers might pop, so be careful.
  • This recipe will also work with any kind of mild peppers like padron or guindilla peppers.

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 11gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 482mgPotassium: 562mgFiber: 7gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 989IUVitamin C: 68mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Hi, I'm Tanvi! If you love Indian food, you are at the right place, browse through hundreds of delicious Indian recipes

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