Bhajjis – perfect snack for a rainy evening

Bhajji is a favorite snack in my home. Once on a cold rainy evening, when my son was 2 years old, I asked my son what I should cook for his dinner. Pat came his reply, ‘Bhajji’! So that’s how much of “a Bhajji family” we are 🙂

I make bhajjis quite often, about once in a month. I generally use a wide variety of vegetables to make bhajjis, like, carrots, raw plantain, onion, capsicum, large brinjals, potato, tender yellow pumpkin (parangi kottai), chowchow, paneer etc. All the snacks and tiffin varieties are prepared and served from the stove to the plate. I find it difficult to take pictures most of the time. But this time I decided to take pictures, to post in the blog of course. The bhajjis I make are quite simple. The temperature of the oil and the consistency of the batter matter most while preparing a tasty crispy bhajji. For tips on the right way to deep fry refer to my earlier post on kunukku.

Brinjal and Vazhaikkai bhajjis

Ingredients

• Gram flour (Besan) – 1 cup
• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Water – 3/4 cup
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Hing – 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste
• Vegetables of your choice – 1/2 kg
• Oil for deep frying – 2 cups

Method

1. Heat the oil in a kadai on low flame. The oil will be ready by the time you prepare the batter.
2. Mix the flours, salt, hing, chilli powder with water and mix well with out lumps.
3. Wash, peel and slice the vegetable to 1/8 inch thick pieces.
4. Bring the flame to high. Dip the slices one at a time into the batter and drop into hot oil.
5. Reduce flame to medium and cook both sides. Drain well and take out the bhajjis on to a kitchen paper.
6. Serve hot with sauce or Vethal kuzhambu.

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Kunukku with brinjal (savoury balls with brinjal)

Kunukku is a traditional snack, prepared more often than bhajjis in tamizh households. Deep fried snacks are welcome with evening tea during winter months. I always use a lot of vegetables with these snacks to increase their nutritional value. While lot of people totally avoid deep fried snacks, I always believe in eating what ever we like in limited quantities. We have consciously included a lot of physical activity in our daily routine to avoid unwanted weight gain which leads to various health problems. So go ahead and enjoy all the deep fried snacks this winter and include a lot of physical exercise in your daily routine.

Kunukku

Ingredients

• Par boiled rice or raw rice – 1 cup
• Toor dal – 1/2 cup
• Channa dal – 1/2 cup
• Urad dal – 2 tablespoons
• Curry leaves – 2 twigs
• Grated coconut – 2 table spoons
• Finely chopped brinjal – 2 cups ( Large variety tastes best)
• Red chillies – 4 nos
• Hing – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste
• Oil for deep frying – 2 cups

Method

1. Wash and soak the rice and dals separately for 1 hour.
2. Drain the water well.Grind the rice coarsely, add the dals, redchillies, curry leaves, coconut, hing and salt and grind to a coarse thick batter.
3. Mix finely chopped brinjal. Heat oil in a kadai in a medium flame. Make 1 inch balls out of the batter and fry in hot oil till golden brown.
4. Serve hot with coconut chutney or sauce.

Tips for deep frying

Temperature control is very important for deep frying the right way. Maintaining oil at a constant temperature – not allowing it to over heat or cool too much is very important.

The flame should be high while dropping the balls so that the batter does not disintegrate or scatter in the oil.

Lower the flame to medium to allow even cooking.

The temperature of oil should never go beyond smoke point. If oil begins to go beyond smoke point, replace with fresh oil.

Oil should be cleaned of any remaining smaller food particles before you proceed with each batch.

Food should be removed when golden in colour to best retain flavour and nutrition and should not turn dark brown.

Drain well while removing from oil to avoid excess oil sticking to the snack. Perforated ladles are best suited for deep frying. Drain on a rack or perforated vessel after removing from oil.

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