Let’s be honest, Indian food is pretty hard to beat.
Contents show
Full of unique flavors, fresh ingredients, strong spices, and vibrant colors, Indian food is a versatile cuisine that has been growing in popularity all over the world for hundreds of years.
Aside from being incredibly delicious, a lot of Indian recipes are very healthy, gluten-free, and vegetarian. This only helps make the cuisine even more popular.
However, a lot of people avoid Indian recipes because of how long they take to make. Some recipes take hours to finish cooking.
Luckily for us, the invention of the air fryer changes that. Thanks to the air fryer, we can quickly and easily make delicious Indian food in a matter of minutes.
Today, we want to show you just how many recipes we can make. We’ve listed 23 of the best Indian air fryer recipes below.
1. Aloo Gobi
We’ll start with a much-loved Northern Indian recipe called Aloo Gobi. This is a popular dish made in restaurants and at home. This particular recipe lets you make Aloo Gobi in just 20 minutes with your air fryer.
All you have to do to make this dish is toss your potatoes and cauliflower in spices and roast them in your air fryer. The end result is a crispy, well-seasoned spicy dish that looks great and tastes even better.
2. Spicy Bombay Potatoes
Air fryers are known for making potatoes that are crispy and golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Add some Indian flavor to the mix and we’re left with an exciting side dish that will please your guests.
The key to this spicy recipe is the spice blend. The potatoes are first parboiled before being coated with a mix made from coriander, cumin, amchur, turmeric, chaat masala, and Kashmiri chili powder.
This blend really does create a taste sensation.
3. Air Fryer Samosas
Another Indian food that benefits from the crispiness the air fryer creates is the famous samosa.
This golden air fryer samosa recipe is loaded with a lightly-spiced mix of vegetables before being fried for less than 4 minutes.
Made using a thin, vegan-friendly pastry, these samosas are filled with corn, onions, peas, carrots, and potatoes. Truth be told though, you can fill the pastry with anything you like.
Paneer is a popular choice with a lot of people.
4. Nan Khatai
You can even make a tasty batch of Indian cookies using your air fryer. Ready to eat in under 30 minutes, this Indian cookie recipe is made using chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, semolina, and a handful of other ingredients.
When it comes down to what you can expect from the cookies, this recipe produces a batch of flaky, lightly sweet, nicely crisp, and tender cookies that look awesome and taste amazing.
5. Tandoori Aloo Tikka
A great vegetarian appetizer, tandoori aloo tikka is a baby potato recipe that sees the potatoes coated in an impressive combination of spices and yogurt.
The potatoes are then put on skewers and cooked in the air fryer to give them a delicious golden crunch.
Bursting with savory, salty, and spicy flavors, these potatoes are heavenly. To make the experience even more interesting for your tastebuds, the potatoes are served with a refreshing mint dip.
6. Paneer Tikka
Next, we have another great Indian air fryer recipe that uses skewers to help create a tasty appetizer.
This time, we have a delicious paneer tikka recipe. This is the best recipe for those of you that want to make restaurant-style tandoori paneer at home.
The recipe is packed with powerful flavors, plenty of color, and healthy ingredients.
The combination of the paneer, sweet peppers, mint sauce, and chili powder is wonderful, whilst the Indian spices added to the mixture give the paneer a powerful kick.
7. Air Fryer Onion Bhajis
Onion bhajis are a super simple, yet strong flavored starter that can be made easily. This delicious Indian starter is made using thinly sliced onions and a delightfully spiced batter.
This recipe uses a selection of Indian spices and gram flour to make the onion bhajis batter.
For those that don’t know, gram flour is basically chickpea flour. This flour helps give the bhajis extra flavor. It also goes nice and crispy when fried.
8. Air Fryer Pakoras
This next recipe offers us everything we love about pakoras without making us feel guilty because the pakoras are air fried instead of deep-fried.
Served with a yogurt dip, these tasty bites of heaven are also made using gram flour.
This particular recipe makes the pakoras using cauliflower and potatoes.
They can also be made with chicken but this recipe is designed with vegetarians in mind. The flavors are already pretty impressive but adding onion takes things to another level.
9. Plantain Chips
Known more famously in India as Kerala banana chips, this recipe from Easy Indian Cookbook shows us how to make a simple healthy snack using just four ingredients.
All you need to make these chips are 2 plantains, coconut oil, turmeric, and salt.
Once cut and seasoned, you can throw the chips into the air fryer and let them fry. These chips aren’t as spicy or well-seasoned as other recipes on this list, but they still taste great.
They are seen as a healthy alternative to standard salted chips.
10. Tandoori Paneer Naan Pizza
If you’re looking for an Indian recipe that your children will enjoy, why not give this tandoori paneer naan pizza recipe a try?
A great way to get the children to eat healthily, these naan pizzas are made using marinated paneer, red peppers, grape tomatoes, and onions. You can also throw in any other toppings you like.
This is a quick and easy recipe to follow that you can get the kids involved with. Let them organize their own toppings.
11. Vada Pav
This next recipe lets us bring some of India’s street food to our homes. Vada Pav is a humble street food dish commonly found in Mumbai. It consists of a fried potato fritter stuffed between a bread roll.
The roll is then served alongside a variety of sweet and spicy chutneys and sauces.
If you want to experience exciting Indian flavors and spices, make this snack or weekday dinner now! It’s full of interesting flavors, powerful spices, interesting textures, and Indian colors.
12. Spicy Corn On The Cob
If you’ve come here looking for an easy-to-make appetizer or side dish, look no further than this spicy corn-on-the-cob recipe.
Whilst this recipe recommends spicing the corn with salt, pepper, Kashmiri red chili powder, paprika, lime, and cilantro, you can essentially use any spices you like.
Personally, we love the combination of spicy, savory, sweet, and tangy flavors produced by combining corn with lime, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Make sure you cook your corn until it’s golden and crispy.
13. Aloo Tikka
The next recipe on our list is another street food dish served up all over India.
This can be a quick snack for the family or a fantastic appetizer. This recipe helps you make crispy potato cakes that can be made from leftover mashed potatoes.
To give the potato cakes that Indian flair, the recipe calls for a seasoning mix of cilantro, chili, ginger, chili powder, salt, mango powder, and roasted cumin.
This mixture packs a punch so use it lightly if you don’t like too much heat. We love to serve these cakes with a runny egg at breakfast.
14. Gobi Manchurian
Next up, we have this gorgeous gobi Manchurian recipe. This tasty cauliflower recipe is a cross between a classic Indian dish and a sticky sweet and sour Chinese recipe.
Finding the perfect balance between both cultures, this recipe is wonderfully seasoned.
The sticky-sweet sauce is spectacular, whilst the crispiness of the cauliflower is divine. Serve the cauliflower on a bed of rice or noodles with a generous serving of the strong sauce.
15. Simple Naan Bread Recipe
In our opinion, it’s impossible to truly enjoy an Indian meal without fluffy but firm naan bread. It may only be a simple combination of ingredients and flavors, but there’s just something incredibly satisfying about it.
This recipe makes the process of making naan bread extremely simple. You only need two ingredients to make this traditional Indian bread. Those ingredients are Greek yogurt and self-raising flour.
You can then eat the bread plain or smother it with butter. You could even serve it with a spicy dip.
16. Dal Vada
If you want a good Indian breakfast recipe, this dal vada recipe is ideal for you. A tasty Indian fritter recipe, dal vada is made using Chana dal, red lentils, and a selection of spices.
To give the fritters a more impressive flavor, the recipe recommends using Nigella seeds, ginger paste, turmeric, salt, onion, and serrano pepper.
Once fried, these vegan snacks turn golden in color. You’ll find the outside to be slightly crisp and the inside nice and fluffy.
17. Stuffed Okra
Also known as Bharwa Bhindi, this stuffed okra recipe is a delicious Indian side dish that’s packed with flavor, low in calories, gluten-free, and vegan. Super simple to prepare, you’ll love how the okra bursts with flavor.
Once fried, the okra has a slightly crispy texture, a bold, spicy flavor, a sweet coconut finish, and hints of dry curry. We love how this recipe combines sweet, savory, spicy, and tangy flavors perfectly to create a taste sensation.
18. Roasted Cauliflower And Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
A great low-carb appetizer is this roasted cauliflower and cilantro yogurt sauce recipe. Light, crispy, and surprisingly refreshing, this recipe is a crowd pleasure so give it a try for your next party.
Quick and easy to make, the cauliflower is well seasoned with garlic powder, cumin, and salt. The yogurt sauce is made using yogurt, cilantro, chili pepper, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper.
19. Taro Fries
If you love fries but need to stick to a healthier diet, you should make these taro fries. Taro fries made in an air fryer are much healthier than fries made from potatoes and deep-fried.
Taro fries are delicious too which always helps.
Easily made, this variation of the classic fry is full of flavor, crispy on the outside, fluffy in the center, and free from any grease. Served alongside a tasty cilantro dip, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.
20. Tandoori Chicken Wings
Marinated in Indian spices and yogurt, these smoky tandoori chicken wings are to die for.
The combination of flavors will blow your mind, whilst the lemon wedges served with the wings give the recipe a refreshing tang.
They are easily prepared, quickly cooked, and great for a BBQ party. You can even make batches of these wings in advance so you can enjoy your party more.
The wings are crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside.
21. Lamb Kofta Kebabs
This recipe will help you make the most delicious lamb kofta kebabs. A problem some people have when making lamb kofta kebabs is making them too dry.
This recipe avoids this, letting you make juicy kebabs the whole family will enjoy.
This recipe is a fabulous quick and healthy kebab fix and one you’ll come back to time and time again.
22. Ivy Gourd Fry
Part of the pumpkin family, ivy gourds are a type of fruit that comes from a tropical plant. They have a similar appearance to the zucchini and have an almost bitter melon flavor.
If you manage to get hold of an ivy gourd, you could make some tasty ivy gourd fries.
Ready in 35 minutes, these fries are crispy, fluffy, and well-seasoned. Seasoning includes cayenne, turmeric, garam masala, chaat masala, carom seeds, and salt.
23. Gulab Jamun Cheesecake
Let’s finish with a tasty Indian dessert recipe. What better place to end than with a gorgeous cheesecake recipe?
A real party centerpiece, this cheesecake has a layer of milk-based donuts covered by a ridiculously creamy cheesecake.
As if things couldn’t get any better, this cheesecake also has a pistachio crust.
This sweet crust gives the cheesecake an extra layer of flavor and a fantastic crunch. If you have a sweet tooth that needs satisfying, make sure you give this recipe a try.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Air Fryers Good For Indian Cooking?
Yes, air fryers are excellent for Indian cooking. Using an air fryer, we can cook healthier Indian foods quicker and easier. Cooking without added oil is a great way to make Indian dishes healthier.
Can You Make Roti In An Air Fryer?
You’ll be pleased to know that yes, you can make roti in an air fryer. In fact, you can make most Indian breads in your air fryer. Other breads you can make include pita bread, naan bread, and tandoori roti.
Can You Put Foil In An Air Fryer?
If a recipe calls for you to wrap ingredients in foil, don’t worry about putting that foil in your air fryer. Putting foil in an air fryer is perfectly safe. It can actually make the cooking process easier.
Final Thoughts
Indian food is loved all over the world. Bursting with unique flavors, fresh ingredients, versatile dishes, and beautiful spices, it’s not hard to see why.
The only downside to Indian cooking is that it can often take hours to prepare a dish.
Luckily for us though, we can also make a wide range of quick and easy recipes using an air fryer. In this post, we have shown you 23 delicious Indian recipes you can make using an air fryer.
Whether you want a quick bite to eat, some Indian street food, or a hearty dinner, we’ve got something for you on our list. With that in mind, you should now decide which recipes you’d like to try first.
23 Delicious Indian Air Fryer Recipes You Need To Try
Recipe by Jenna
We can use an air fryer to make a wide selection of delicious Indian recipes. This post takes a look at 23 of the best Indian air fryer recipes you need to try.
Course: Dinner
0 from 0 votes
Ingredients
Directions
- Pick a recipe from the list above
- Click the recipe name and visit the website
- Collect the ingredients and cook the food
- Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review
Recipe Video
- Author
- Recent Posts
Follow Me
Jenna
Food Lover at Whimsy And Spice
Hi, my name is Jenna and I have been a professional chef for almost the entirety of my adult life. What started as a hobby in college quickly turned into a passion with which I surrounded my life.
Cooking is great for your mental, physical, and emotional health. What’s the worst that could happen? Find a recipe that you like the sound of and cook it along with me. You might even unlock a new passion!
Follow Me
Latest posts by Jenna (see all)
- 15 Traditional Greek Breads - July 31, 2023
- 30 Delicious And Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes - July 29, 2023
- 30 Of The Best European Desserts - July 29, 2023
