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Shrimp pakora (shrimp fritters) Indian prawn pakora

By swasthi , on June 16, 2020, 17 Comments, Jump to Recipe

Shrimp pakora recipe – Shrimp fritters popularly known as prawn pakora are a street snack in some parts of India. These crisp fried shrimps are relished as a an appetizer or as a tea time snack. These are mostly eaten with a spicy chutney or sauce. Basically pakoras are aromatic crisp fried Indian fritters made with gram flour, spices and herbs. These can be made with any ingredient like onions, veggies, lentils, chicken or even with shrimps.

shrimp pakora in a white plate

Apart from the onion pakora & bread pakora, these shrimp fritters too are quite popular in the Andhra restaurant menus. There are quite a few different ways these are made.

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I follow my onion pakoda & chicken pakora recipes to make these shrimp fritters. These come out so aromatic, flavorful, crisp and delicious.

The recipe needs only a few basic ingredients like onions, your favorite herbs, spices and more importantly some fresh or frozen shrimps. However I have made these with tiger prawns.

These shrimp fritters are quite easy to make and they can also be grilled in a oven.

Preparation for Shrimp pakora

1. Peel, devein and rinse the shrimps or prawns very well. Drain water completely.

adding spice powders to shrimps

2. Marinate prawns with red chili powder, salt and turmeric. Keep this aside for 10 minutes. I also added a bit of lemon juice.

marinated shrimps in a plate

How to make shrimp pakora

3. Heat oil in a deep pan or kadai.

4. Add ginger garlic paste, chilies, curry leaves, sliced onions, flour, garam masala and a bit of salt. Mix gently to coat the prawns well with all the ingredients.

5. I forgot to add garam masala at this step so I added later. I did not add water, the moisture from the prawns and lemon juice was sufficient to bind the prawns well. But if your mixture looks dry, just sprinkle a tsp of water and mix.

6. When the oil is hot, turn the flame to medium high, take each prawn along with some onions and curry leaves batter and drop it in the oil. Do not add too many at one time.

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7. Prawns tend to get burnt faster, so take care. Flip them to the other side and fry till golden. Fry all the prawns in batches

8. This is an optional step. When you finish frying all the prawn fritters, add them back to hot oil and repeat frying them for a minute, this gives a good crunchy texture to the pakora. Drain them on a kitchen tissue

Serve them with a sauce or mint chutney.

shrimp pakora fritters
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If you have ever eaten an Indian pakora then you know what are those key ingredient that go into making these. However I have some substitutions for you with which you can try.

Tips

Gram flour or besan is used in most of the Indian fritters as it lends a unique nutty aroma. If you do not have it then, you may use yellow corn flour.

Curry leaves or mint: I prefer my shrimp pakoras with curry leaves & mint. You can use any one or both. Both give different flavors to the fritters.

Garam masala is a Indian spice powder. If you do not have it, then you may use some curry powder. Here I have used very little garam masala. Don’t use a lot of it for sea foods else the original flavor of the sea food would be lost.

These shrimp pakoras can be also be grilled in an oven. Spray some oil ones the fritters are done.

Do adjust all the spices to suit your taste.

More shrimp & prawn recipes
prawn curry

Shrimp Biryani
Chilli prawns

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shrimp pakora fritters

Shrimp pakora (shrimp fritters)

Spicy prawn pakora are prawn fritters that go perfectly as a non-veg starter or as a tea time snack.
Pin Recipe Print Recipe

For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings2
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons gram flour (besan)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch or rice flour
  • 1 small onion sliced thinly
  • 1 sprig curry leaves or 8 mint leaves chopped
  • 1 green chilli chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (crushed ginger garlic)
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder or any spice powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt as needed for the batter
  • oil for deep frying

Marination

  • 10 shrimp (or tiger prawns, 300 grams)
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • salt as needed
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Instructions

Preparation

  • Devein, peel and clean prawns/ shrimp. Rinse well and drain them completely.
  • Marinate shrimp with red chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and salt.

How to make shrimp fritters

  • Heat oil in a deep pan for deep frying.
  • While the oil heats, sprinkle gram flour, cornstarch, more salt and curry leaves.
  • Mix gently to coat the shrimps well with dry flours. If needed sprinkle 1 tsp. water and mix. The mix must be just moist enough. If there is lot of moisture, the fritters won't turn crisp.
  • When the oil is hot enough, do a heat test by dropping a small portion of dough to the oil. It has to rise steadily and not brown too quickly. This is the right temperature.
  • Once the oil is hot, put the flame to medium high, hold each prawn along with some onions, curry leaves batter and gently slide to the hot oil. If you are using smaller kind then, you can group them to 2 or 3 and fry.
  • Take care not to burn them, flip them to the other side and fry till golden & crisp. Drain them on a colander or absorbent tissue. Fry all the shrimps in batches.
  • Once you finish frying all the pakora, repeat frying them for a minute, this gives a good crunchy texture to the fritters.
  • Shrimp fritters are best served while hot, they begin to lose the crunch after a while.
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Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Shrimp pakora (shrimp fritters)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 126 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Cholesterol 75mg25%
Sodium 249mg11%
Potassium 240mg7%
Carbohydrates 19g6%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 350IU7%
Vitamin C 60.6mg73%
Calcium 56mg6%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

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prawn pakora recipe 2

This post if from the archives, first published in July 2014. Republished in June 2020.

Shrimp pakora (shrimp fritters) Indian prawn pakora
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About swasthi

I’m Swasthi shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthis recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills.
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Comments

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  2. Jacob says

    November 5, 2020

    5 stars
    Hi Swasthi,

    Do you know the ideal temperature for heating the oil?

    Thank you kindly.

    Jacob

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      November 6, 2020

      Hi Jacob,
      For this recipe I haven’t checked the temperature.

      Reply
  3. Robert Samson says

    May 25, 2019

    5 stars
    You can also make pakoras where the prawn does not curl when frying.
    After cleaning the prawns, on the underneath belly side, just make a slit.
    Prawns will not curl.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 25, 2019

      Hi Robert,
      Thank you so much for sharing your trick. I never knew this. Thanks again for rating as well.

      Reply
  4. Bella says

    November 18, 2016

    5 stars
    Hi Swasthi, what is ginger garlic paste?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      November 18, 2016

      Hi Bella
      Crush half tsp each of minced Ginger and garlic to a fine paste and use it in the recipe. You can place them on a chopping board and use something heavy to make a paste

      Reply
  5. Ana says

    March 10, 2016

    spicy prawns pakora

    Reply
  6. Preethi says

    July 23, 2014

    want to pick off straight off the screen n eat. looks so good.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      July 24, 2014

      🙂

      Reply
  7. Annie says

    July 16, 2014

    What an awesome spin on fritters! I have never had anything like this, but it looks amazing!

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      July 20, 2014

      Hi Annie,
      Thank you

      Reply
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  9. Alpana says

    July 15, 2014

    Delicious recipes and beautiful pictures!
    Take a look at our site A social network for hobbies and interests.
    Would love to see you there posting some recipes for our users as well.

    Thanks,
    Alpana

    Reply
  10. Shobana Vijay says

    July 14, 2014

    I am gonna do this pakoras tomm.Thanks for sharing

    Reply
    • Shwetha says

      March 1, 2019

      I only follow Ur recipes.u r the best

      Reply
      • swasthi says

        March 2, 2019

        Thank you

        Reply
  11. linsy says

    July 14, 2014

    Looks very tempting

    Reply
  12. Nisa Homey says

    July 13, 2014

    Oh! My! These prawn pakoras are calling me….i also don’t favor much garam masala for seafood and you are so right about adding onions.

    Reply

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