Fish pakora needs just handful ingredients in its making and also needs less for its preparation and that is why I always like to to serve as it sides along with Sunday biryani. When the biryani is in dum mode, you can happily put these fish fillet cubes in air fryer and job will be done.

For this fish pakora I used Tilapia fish fillets available in Costco which tastes amazing, since everything is pre cleaned the work is super simple, just mix all the ingredients, marinate for 30 minutes and air fry. Also I have not used any food color in the recipe instead Kashmiri chili powder to give the pakora good coloring. In this recipe I have used cumin seeds/ jeera which can be replaced with caraway seeds/ omam. So let’s get to the making!
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- 1. Fish fillet – 1/ 10 pieces
- 2. Cumin seeds/ Jeera – ¼ tsp
- 3. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
- 4. Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
- 5. Salt – to taste
- 6. Ginger garlic paste – ½ tsp
- 7. Rice flour – 1 tbsp
- 8. Besan/ Gram flour – 1 tbsp
- 9. Lemon juice – ½ tsp
- 10. Oil – 1 tsp
- 11. Green chili - 2
- 12. Curry leaves- few
- * 1 cup = 235 ml
- Take the fish fillet and chop it into cubes as shown in the collage. Wash it thoroughly and transfer it to a bowl.
- Now to the fish fillet cubes add red chili powder, turmeric powder (never skip while cooking non veg specially sea food), salt, ginger garlic paste, rice flour, besan/ gram flour, lemon juice, cumin seeds and ½ tsp oil.
- Mix everything well so that the fish is well coated in masala. Marinate the fish for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat Air fryer at 400 for 5 minutes. ( I have CRUX air fryer at home and the below mentioned cook time suits me, timing may vary a little according to the brand)
- When the air fryer is preheated brush a tbsp of oil on the baking rack/ place a parchment paper on the baking rack (prevents chicken from sticking) then place the fish pieces one by one evenly without overcrowding. Do not place really big chunks as the inside might not get cooked fully. Brush a tsp oil over the fish pieces as well (optional). Now cook for 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes you will notice that the fish is evenly cooked and crisp. Now to the fish pakora add curry leaves and cut chili. Cook it for 2 minutes and you should see delicious fish pakora ready in no time. Remove it from the air fryer and cook the next batch. Serve it hot.
How to make Air fryer fish pakora with step by step images

- Take the fish fillet and chop it into cubes as shown in the collage. Wash it thoroughly and transfer it to a bowl.
- Now to the fish fillet cubes add red chili powder, turmeric powder (never skip while cooking non veg specially sea food), salt, ginger garlic paste, rice flour, besan/ gram flour, lemon juice, cumin seeds and ½ tsp oil. Mix everything well so that the fish is well coated in masala. Marinate the fish for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat Air fryer at 400 for 5 minutes. ( I have CRUX air fryer at home and the below mentioned cook time suits me, timing may vary a little according to the brand) When the air fryer is preheated brush a tbsp of oil on the baking rack/ place a parchment paper on the baking rack (prevents chicken from sticking) then place the fish pieces one by one evenly without overcrowding. Do not place really big chunks as the inside might not get cooked fully. Brush a tsp oil over the fish pieces as well (optional). Now cook for 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes you will notice that the fish is evenly cooked and crisp. Now to the fish pakora add curry leaves and cut chili. Cook it for 2 minutes and you should see delicious fish pakora ready in no time. Remove it from the air fryer and cook the next batch. Serve it hot.