Pakora Waffles! Chickpea Flour Waffles are a fun savory vegan breakfast treat or snack! Veggie Pakora fritters are a staple at most Indian restaurants and now you can have them for breakfast – unfried! Gluten-free too!
So it was definitely time for me to come up with another creative savory use for a waffle iron. Enter Pakora Waffles.
What are Pakoras?
Pakora is a spiced fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent, often sold by street vendors and consisting of vegetables such as potatoes and onions, coated in spiced gram flour and then deep-fried.
These waffles are a fun play on the popular Indian snack. Light crispy waffles made with chickpea flour with plenty of veggie goodness and spices in them!
They are Glutenfree, soyfree, Nutfree and high protein. Great for snacking or breakfast.
Is gram flour the same as chickpea flour?
Besan (gram flour) and Chickpea flour are not the same! Besan or gram flour is a flour of chana dal or split brown chickpeas. Chickpea flour or garbanzo flour is ground up white chickpeas. Similar flavors, but not the same flour. Besan is Brown Chickpea flour, is finer and milder flavor. Garbanzo bean flour (white Chickpea flour) is coarse, dryer, more bitter flavored and needs more moisture. Read this blog post for differences and where to use which flour.
MORE CHICKPEA FLOUR RECIPES
- Chickpea flour tofu – firmer and sturdier with chickpea flour
- Omelet with Chickpea flour
- Chickpea flour frittata – no soy
- Socca is better with chickpea flour.
- My Gluten-free Naan is better with chickpea flour
- Breakfast Scramble with Chickpea Flour
- Gluten-free flatbread
- Cheese slices! no nuts.
MORE SAVORY VEGGIE SNACKS
- Zucchini Carrot Chickpea Fritters
- Baked Broccoli Pakora
- Apple Fritters
- Veggies in spiced chickpea flour sauce. – Sindhi Kadhi
- Baked Dal Samosa.
Recipe Card
Pakora Waffles - Savory Chickpea Flour Waffles
Ingredients
- ½ cup finely chopped cauliflower or use more onion or other seasonal veggie. Grate the veggie if they are not quick cooking eg sweet potato, root veg etc)
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- ¾ cup finely chopped onion
- 1 hot green chili finely chopped
- ½ inch of fresh ginger minced
- ¼ cup Or more cilantro chopped
- ⅛ tsp carom(ajwain) seeds or cumin seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp cayenne or red Indian chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp rice flour or use fine semolina flour
- 1 cup chickpea flour or use 1 cup +2 tbsp besan
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup water
- oil as needed
Instructions
- Chop all of your vegetables and add them to a bowl. Or use a food processor to make a coarsely chopped mixture
- Add the rice flour, chickpea flour, salt, spices, cilantro, baking soda and mix everything well.
- Add in 1 cup of water to the mixture, stir well until combined. Add more water if needed - I need just about 1Tbsp more water when I make this, it really just depends on the amount of moisture leaking from your vegetables as well as the chickpea flour you use.
- Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes before starting to make your waffles.
- Oil and preheat your waffle maker - I usually drizzle some oil onto my waffle iron since I like my waffles to get nice and crispy and brown.
- Pour and spread the thick batter on your waffle maker, spread evenly with a spatula. keep the batter amount to a medium thick layer for crispy waffles. Too thick will take long to cook and soften faster
- Drizzle a few drops of oil on the top as well before closing the lid.
- Cook until golden brown and crisp, to preference. (These waffles take a while to crisp up so account for all the inactive time when planning. Also keep them thin else the batter gets bready)
- The waffle maker timer for mine is pretty short, you may have to experiment to see what’s best for yours. Just make sure you cook it to a golden crisp brown to ensure the vegetables are fully cooked and the waffles get crispy.
- Remove the waffle from the waffle maker, repeat for all of the batter.
Notes
- For eggy waffles, omit the whole spices(cumin) and add in 1 tbsp nutritional yeast and 1/4 tsp Indian sulphur salt (kala namak)
- These waffles are freezer friendly. Freeze and reheat in toaster or oven
- Use any veggies of choice. Or use just onion and peppers for an onion pakora waffle!
- Make the batter ahead and refrigerate in a closed container. Check consistency before using as veggies might have leaked some moisture and add a tsp or more chickpea flour if needed. Use to make waffles or pancakes! Batter keeps for upto 3 days
- Pancakes: This batter also makes great pancakes. The thick batter will make thick pancakes that you can use as patties in a sandwich. Thin out the batter with more water and make thinner crispy pancakes and serve with chutney or ketchup
Nutrition
Ingredients for Chickpea Flour Waffles:
- Chickpea flour is the base of our waffle batter. It’s the flour of white chickpeas and is labeled as chickpea flour or garbanzo flour. You can also use besan, you will need a few tbsp more flour
- Rice flour makes these extra fluffy, light and crispy on the outside. If you can’t find rice flour in your local supermarket, try a shop where they sell Indian or Asian food. They’ll probably have it.
- Veggies: your typical veggie pakora add-ins like cauliflower, bell pepper, onion, green chili, fresh ginger, and cilantro.
- Spices: cumin seeds, turmeric, cayenne or red Indian chili powder, and obviously salt
- water
Tips & Substitutions:
- Like other types of flour, chickpea flour and besan should be stored in a sealed container in a cool place. It stays fresh for up to 6 months, and longer if refrigerated.
- I usually drizzle some oil onto my waffle iron since I like my waffles to get nice and crispy and brown just like pakora fritters
- These waffles are served best when they are warm and crispy, they will soften a bit as they cool off after about 30 mins or so.
How to make Savory Chickpea Flour Waffles:
Chop all of your vegetables and add them to a bowl. Add the rice flour, chickpea flour, salt, spices, cilantro, baking soda and mix everything well.
Add in 1 cup of water to the mixture, stir well until combined and more water if needed. I need just about 1Tbsp more water when I make this, it really just depends on the amount of moisture leaking from your vegetables as well as the chickpea flour you use.
Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes before starting to make your waffles.
Oil and preheat your waffle maker. Pour and spread the thick batter on your waffle maker, spread evenly with a spatula.
Drizzle a few drops of oil on the top as well before closing the lid. Cook until golden brown and crisp, to preference.
Tip: The waffle maker timer for my iron is pretty short, you may have to experiment to see what’s best for yours. Just make sure you cook it to a golden crisp brown to ensure the vegetables are fully cooked and the waffles get crispy.
Remove the waffle from the waffle maker, repeat for all of the batter.
CAN I MAKE CHICKPEA FLOUR AT HOME?
Yes! If you have a high-speed blender, blend dry chickpeas until a preferred fine consistency. Blend chana dal to make besan. It might not be as fine as store-bought.
Kathy
Hi! These sound amazing! I’m wondering if I could use brown rice flour?
Richa
Instead of chickpea flour? That will be a very dry waffle.
Tessa
Great recipe! My waffle maker was lent out so I made them in my tosti-iron. Worked out great, maybe a litte more soft than the waffles but taste 👌🏻👌🏻. Easy to bring with you fir snack or lunch. Cut the veggies fine like she says!! Love this.
Vegan Richa Support
thank you!
Kelly
I’ve made these twice now. Each time, I quartered the recipe and ended up with two waffles. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly the first time. I chopped the veggies with a knife instead of using a food processor. I found the pieces were too big and not fully cooked.
The second time I made these I used a food processor and sauteed the veggies in a pan for about five minutes. Perfection!
(I also popped the waffles in my air fryer for a few minutes because my waffle maker doesn’t do a good job of making crisp waffles. I recommend that if someone else has the same issue.)
Thanks for the great recipe!
Vegan Richa Support
yay! so glad you enjoy!
Liz M.
Delicious! I didn’t have cilantro or a hot pepper, but I made these anyway and they were still wonderful. Can’t wait to make again with all the good stuff. My friend who lives on grocery store toaster waffles was blown away and wanted seconds. We think next time they’d make a great base for a delicious coconut milk curry. I’ve had your “Everyday Kitchen” book for years and I thank you for continuing to create flavorful recipes!
Vegan Richa Support
yum! thank you for trying and sharing some goodness with your friend, too 🙂
Tessa
Thanks for the idea of mint chutney!!
Mae
Just made these tonight – so good! We’ll definitely make them again. I made your mint chutney recipe to go with them, and also topped with coconut yogurt and chopped tomato.
Vegan Richa Support
A perfect blend!
Bev
Fabulous!! So healthy and delicious! My batter turned out pretty watery even with the 2 T. extra flour. I probably had to add another 1/4 cup and left them in the waffle iron until the steaming stopped. Next time I will add the water as needed to make a thick batter. I topped with a mix of vegan cream cheese (homemade), yogurt, lime, a little salt and chopped cilantro. YUM!!!
Vegan Richa Support
thank you!
Elizabeth
I made mine with grated sweet potato. We ate it with no sauce but dreamt of a tamarind sauce or the peri puri(?) made from cilantro and green chili. Thanks so much for the yummy!
Vegan Richa Support
Yummy dreams.
Meena Gehani
So good! I made them today and everyone loved them!
Vegan Richa Support
they’ll be wanting more
Heather
Can I freeze the pancake version? Looking forward to trying these. Thank you, Richa.
Vegan Richa Support
sure, just try to keep as airtight as possible
Cass
Incredibly delicious! Thank you Richa!
Vegan Richa Support
So happy that you liked them
EJ
So enjoyed this–for dinner. Always looking for fun ways to use the waffle-maker. It is easy to make and delicious. We were thinking it might be a tasty replacement for rice with something like butter tofu paneer. Thanks!!!
Vegan Richa Support
perfect 🧇 and I have a quinoa recipe too! among many others like chickpea flour waffles! 🧇 https://www.veganricha.com/potato-quinoa-waffles-aloo-tikki-waffles/
Melissa Miles
These were delicious. I used riced cauliflower from a pouch we found at Costco to save time. I also used my Belgian Waffle maker and spread the batter thin. I did give them a bit of extra cooking time and took them out when they looked nice and brown.
Vegan Richa Support
sounds perfect
Tanya Davis
These taste amazing, could eat them all day long, easy to make too and my new favourite food, Thanks Richa for creating them
Richa
Awesome!!
Claire
Made these and served them with a dahl and chutney. Absolutely delicious.
Vegan Richa Support
mmmmmmmm 😋
Addison
I loved this recipe! Easy to make, tasty, and healthy. I used my Belgian waffle maker so I had to increase the cooking time a bit. I ate them plain but would love to try them with a chutney!
Vegan Richa Support
yay Addison
Marie
I dont like chickpea flour. Can I use gluten free mix flour ?
I would like to have your advise.
Thank you
Richa
Some gf blends dry out too much, so you’ll just have to try. Add some almond flour with the gf blend
Mishky
Finally found time to make these – they tasted amazing. Couldn’t get them crispy like yours though….possibly due to my impatience to taste them.
I think the serving size is a little wrong…(or they were so delicious they couldn’t be shared)…I polished them ALL off!
Will definitely make them again!! Thanks Richa
Vegan Richa Support
lol
Anu
Made them for the first time today in my Belgian waffle maker,( before getting rid of it away in goodwill, ) guess what, am keeping it now.
They were the Best waffles I have ever made, so good, delicious too, your detailed recipe are so easy to follow.
Made enough, freezing some, hopefully they will come out good heated in the toaster. Thank you.
Vegan Richa Support
Wonderful to hear, Anu! Thank you for the kind comment.
Mims
Every so often I see a gorgeous waffle recipe and drag out my Black & Decker G48TD Grill & Waffle Baker and I regret it. Honestly, I don’t know why I keep it, waffles stick to the plates no matter how much oil I use. So after a failed first waffle, I finished out the batter on my trusty griddle as pancakes. They were delicious. I used 1 Tbsp canned hatch green chilis (as no fresh) and also doubled the cayenne…we like spicy. I also used corn masa in place of rice flour. I served pancakes with leftover cranberry sauce from Christmas, Major Grey Chutney and sweet spicy pickled pumpkin. And the wafflemaker going to the Goodwill, maybe someone else can make better waffles with it (some of the reviewers on Amazon rave about it).
Richa
Yeah it’s the waffle maker. Mine is the mini dash which is 3 years old now and was just 15 bucks. Still works amazingly !
Steffanie
What is this sweet spicy pickled pumpkin you speak of? Sounds good. How did you make it? (I will have to look up the chutney you mentioned as well)
Sheetu
Absolutely loved these waffle pakoras. A new favorite breakfast for our family. I didn’t have cilantro and replaced it with chopped spinach. Thanks a lot for a lot of such a wonderful recipe. I have tried with both chickpea flour and besan. I prefer the ones with chickpea flour more.
Richa
Awesome! I like chickpea flour jn these as well as it’s more voluminous
Beth Bird
Can I just tell you how delicious these were! I didn’t have the green chili so left it out. I didn’t have cilantro so used parsley and added a little coriander spice. I used tapioca flour in place of the rice flour since I didn’t have that. I want to make it with all the ingredients next time. We ate them with sweet chili sauce and ketchup. It was such a nice healthy breakfast. Thank you!
Richa
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Gill
Can we use tapioca starch or corn starch instead of rice flour?
Vegan Richa Support
yes
Kelly Cunningham
Out of this world!!! We have made this recipe twice already. I don’t have a waffle maker, so we used the batter as pancakes. Delicious both times. Can’t wait to make for my meat-eating friends. They will savor it!
Vegan Richa Support
yay!
Annie
Could I bake these in a waffle mould then freeze and toast in toaster. I don’t have a waffle iron.
Vegan Richa Support
sounds like a great idea! go for it
Resmi
Even my kids loved it. My picky eater didn’t notice the vegetables in it. Thank you so much for the recipe !
Sneha
These were fantastic! I made no changes to the original recipe. Will be adding them to my personal recipe collection to make again.
Christine Chan
We just made these with your mint-cilantro chutney and quick tamarind-date chutney! It was super good!
Vegan Richa Support
wow – sounds delish
kristen campbell
these were delicious! chopping veggies in the cuisinart made these quick to prep. i would double the spices next time. i did cook mine maybe 45 seconds longer than i cook regular waffles. some leftover tamarind chutney and sriracha on top made these a great birthday dinner for a friend- thanks for a great recipe!
Richa
Awesome
Mirjam Dijkxhoorn
This was delicious! I was slowly running out of Indian recipes for breakfast for my family and this hit the spot! It’s easy to make and healthy 🙂 I did use besan with the adjusted quantity and it worked well.
Vegan Richa Support
Excellent
Elsbeth
These were great! Really gave me pakora vibes. Great new way to make use of my waffle iron again.
Vegan Richa Support
Yay!! check these out too; https://www.veganricha.com/potato-quinoa-waffles-aloo-tikki-waffles/
Vegan Richa Support
perfect timing
Amber
We LOVED these!!!
The first time I made them I didn’t have rice flour so I used potato starch, they were more fluffy, still wonderful but less crispy. With the rice flour they get so much more pakora-like. I would still make these if I was out of rice flour but it’s worth buying if you’re on the fence.
They freeze great and reheat in a toaster easily. New breakfast, lunch, and snack staple!!
Thanks as always Richa 🙂
Richa
You can also use semolina flour instead of rice flour for crispyness
C.Parker
I will admit I used way too many veggies but they were amazing!!
Richa
Awesome!
Sharon Quisenberry
What waffle iron do you use? Ceramic? Regular not Belgium? I can’t wait to try these. Thanks
Richa
I have a mini waffle maker by dash
Claire
I don’t have a waffle machine, could it work in a pan as a kind of pancakes ?
Richa
Yes, make into pancakes . Keep them thin so they get cooked faster and also get slightly crispy edges for nice crispy flavor
Emily
Made these for evening snacking. Perfectly crisp and so filling ! Made a double batch so we will have some for breakfast as well
Richa
Awesome
Beth RitterPerry
This sounds DELISH!!! I can see these in my future…thanks!
Vegan Richa Support
a sixth sense