35 minVegetarianCrispy Onion Pakoras (Pyaaz Pakora)
35 min · Easy
Indian Street Food Recipes
What counts as Indian street food?
Walk through any Indian city and you will find food built for speed: a hot pan or a pot of oil, a handful of fresh vegetables, and spices that hit within seconds. Street food is rarely about elaborate technique. It is about timing, heat and contrast, such as a crisp fritter with a sharp chutney or a soft grain with a crunch of peanuts.
This hub also holds a few dishes that began as home-style staples and are now just as common at stalls and tea shops: kanda poha, a Maharashtrian breakfast of flattened rice, and egg bhurji, spiced scrambled eggs. We include them because they cook the same way, fast and hot, and they are what many people actually eat on the street.
Which techniques do I need?
Frying is the first. Onion pakora uses sliced onion salted until it releases liquid, bound with chickpea flour and a little rice flour, then fried at 175 to 180 °C for crispness. A thermometer helps, though a drop of batter that rises and sizzles steadily is a rough guide. Tempering is the second: popping mustard seeds, curry leaves and chilli in oil, as in poha. The third is cooking an egg masala until the tomato breaks down and oil shows at the edges, the base of bhurji and a fast version of the method in our curry base guide.
For quick eggs, masala omelette uses chopped onion, tomato, chilli and coriander in a fully set omelette ready in about 12 minutes.
How do I start?
If you want to try one dish, make poha. It takes under half an hour and teaches tempering and gentle steaming. Make pakora when you can stand by the stove, because frying needs attention. Our spices guide and pantry guide list the few spices that cover nearly every dish on this page. Serve with chutney and hot tea. Prepare every ingredient before you light the stove, since stall-style cooking moves fast and there is no time to chop once the pan is hot.
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Frequently asked questions
Are these recipes all street food?
Some are stall classics, such as onion pakora, and some are home-style staples that are also sold at stalls and tea shops, such as kanda poha, egg bhurji and masala omelette. We group them here because they share quick, high-heat, bold-flavour cooking.
Why do my pakoras go soggy?
Usually the oil is too cool or the pan is crowded. Fry at 175 to 180 °C and add only as many pakoras as float freely. Salting the onion first draws out its own liquid, so the batter needs little or no added water.
How do I get fluffy kanda poha instead of mush?
Use thick poha, rinse it briefly for about 30 seconds, and drain it for 5 minutes so it softens without breaking down. Steam it briefly with the tempering rather than stirring hard.
Is homemade street food safe to eat?
Cooking at home gives you control. Use clean oil for frying, reused at most once or twice, cook eggs until no liquid remains, and eat fried snacks soon after cooking.