Milaga Bhajjis - Green Chili Fritters

It is the weekend and we are all getting ready to party... or perhaps have a wonderfully quiet and peaceful time with family -either way, Milaga bhajjis is a good way to celebrate on the weekend. These again are made from the homegrown chilies, which are not so spicy and lend themselves marvelously to this dish. For those who wanted to know the other recipe I had made with these green chilies, here you go.

For the batter

• 1 cup of gram flour/kadalamavu/ besan
• ½ cup rice flour
• (I recently found out that 1:1 of besan and rice flour) also works like a charm
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp sambar powder
• 1 pinch of Asafetida
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves chopped
• Oil to fry
• Water enough to make the batter breamy smooth (about 1 cup usually)

Method:

1. Wash and dry your chilies thoroughly.
2. Keep the stem if tender, else chop off
3. Keeping the stem makes for less splattering of seeds bursting in the oil
4. Coat the chili with batter fully
5. Heat oil
6. Drop gently in hot oil
7. Do not overcrowd.
8. Remove and place on kitchen paper towels to drain off any excess oil
9. Enjoy as is or with dip of your choice - ketchup is a good place to start or how about the chili thokku I posted earlier ;P

Cheers and wish you a fabulous weekend. Plenty of exciting fall preparations on their way - stay tuned.

Taro Leaf Fritters /Arbi Pathe Bajjis

Here is yet another wonderful stuffing for bajjis - Taro leaves - We have had them as patra & bakavadi - but since I started growing these, we have made bajjis and wonderful kootu or curry, used them as dolmades wrapping. All of these are fantastic because taro leaves lend themselves beautifully to any kind of preparation

WARNING - Do not try to eat taro leaves raw unless you are prepared to feel its acidic sting burn through your mouth and throat - the calcium oxalate burns down your throat, esophagus all the way to your stomach - COxalate also causes kidney stones - so please DO NOT EAT THEM RAW!!! My poor and rather unsuspecting husband ended up dashing to the fridge to gargle and send cold water chasing behind it to calm his throat which was visible red and inflamed - I guess this is the plant's defense mechanism. But they become docile tasty thingees when cooked - So please be warned about their raw "bite"  ;p

Bajii mavu is the simplest - if you have this recipe down then you can make bajjis with any veggie/leaf/blossom you fancy - 1:1 of besan (sifted) & rice flour; 1tbsp chili powder of choice; a pinch of asafetida; salt; and 1 cup + 1/4 cup or as much to get the consistency shown in the picture below.  Dip and Drop in hot oil - fry until golden brown; strain with paper towels in colander; serve hot.
You can cut the veggies any how you fancy - that too is the fun part. Enjoy these  - I have 2 other interesting bajjis to blog soon - adios

Batter Consistency

My Son who cut them for me posing for my sake :)

Fufu Flour Fritters

When I first saw this at the Indian grocery store, i was intrigued by it - Flour made with Plantain? apparently used a lot in African countries like Ethiopia. The recommended use for it is to make pancakes, but it was afternoon when I pulled it out of my pantry to read those instructions- and was not waiting until the morning to try it. I put freshly picked zucchinis from my garden to work to make these delicious bajjis or fritters - as my daughter observed, this flour is really tasty and makes for real tasty bajjis.

Ingredients
1 cup Fufu Flour
1/4 rice flour
1/4 cup besan
2 tsp chili powder (I used sambar powder)
a pinch of asafetida
Salt to taste
about 3/4 cup of water to mix into a fluid batter
oil to fry
2 medium sized zucchinis

Preparation

Cut the zucchinis into 1/4 inch rounds

put fresh oil in a deep pan and heat

mix the ingredients to make the batter

Ensure the oil is hot enough by dripping a little batter into it - If the batter pops up to the surface quickly, it is ready

Dip the zucchinis in the batter making sure it is fully coated on all sides.

Repeat the process until the pan is full but not over-crowded

cook until the batter is golden brown

Remove from oil, draining them completely with a ladle that has holes in it.

Place on a dish lined with paper towel.

Serve hot with ketchup or by itself

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