Deep frying in oil till golden brown doesn’t happen often in my kitchen…..in fact it wont ever if i can manage…. but sometimes….i grow weak and give in…..mostly fall prey to the excitement deep frying generates for K …. so after a rather dismal week in the kitchen, as we sat on our balcony yesterday and sipped chai while we chatted this happened …..
suddenly possessed i asked k “would you like to eat some bajjis?”
he couldnt believe i was saying this….and said “would love to….but that would be too much oil na…. you dont like to fry”
sanity quickly came back to me and i said “yeah…forget it….i dont know what i was thinking…..”
k gingerly “but i cant remember the last time we had bajjis…i think it was last year…sometime”
me: “sometime last year? are you sure it was so long back? then maybe a little frying wont kill me”
k relieved….and happy….looks at me and says “ok whatever….. but yes it will be nice”
me: “ok now i have to make the bajjis….can you come into the kitchen so we can talk as i do it?”
k: “ok…sure”……..smiles
so that’s how it happened…..and after we devoured some piping hot ones with ketchup…. (i didnt have the patience to make chutney….was practically salivating into the hot kadhai) i didnt feel as guilty as i thought i would….back in august, there was this party going on which i couldnt be part of…..see how much it affected me!! maybe i was trying to make up for not being able to party with the batata vada people….. whatever the reason….we loved and enjoyed this treat…..
Serves 2 very hungry people (or 4 normal ones)
2 medium potatoes, skinned and finely sliced – about 14-16 fine slices
1 medium onion, sliced thin (about 10 slices) (i used a slicer to get them really fine)
1 c chickpea flour (besan)
salt to taste
1 T rice flour
1/2 t carom seeds (ajwain)
a pinch asafeteda
1/4 t red chilly powder
1/2 -2/3 c water
a pinch of baking soda
oh!! almost forgot!! enough oil to deep fry
wash, peel and slice the potatoes and onion and set aside. mix together the rest of the ingredients to form a thick batter. it should be thinner than pancake batter. make sure it is lump free. set aside for 5 mins.
line a plate with 3-4 layers of absorbent paper.
in a heavy bottom open pan (kadhai or wok) heat about 2 1/2 inches of vegetable oil. drop a tiny bit of the batter to test if it is hot enough, it should bubble and the batter should immediately spring back to the surface and sizzle.
reduce the heat and gently (be very careful) dip the slices of vegetable in the batter, coating well and drop it into the hot oil. depending on the size of the vessel, put in 5-6 of them at a time, leaving enough space to turn them around.
the onion slices may separate while being coated with batter, this is absolutely fine and makes for a crisper bajji.
fry till golden brown on both sides. drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.
Escapades 
I think you should another label “guiltfree binge” and have YUMMY low calorie food recipe
Try adding sliced eggplants and tomatoes to the batter alongwith the potatoes and onions. Delicious combo!
I face the same dilemma as you when it comes to frying… cannot remember the last time I did….your bhajji’s look awesome and are tempting me to want to make them right now 🙂
I know the feeling of sin that deep frying engenders, but oh, the results!!!!!!
One of the deep frying tips I learnt was to keep the batter ice cold – y using ice cold water for mixing. This dramatically cuts down oil absorption and produces the crunchiest pakoras and bajjias !
These look really tasty, I like the many savory ingredients you used. I would love to feature this recipe on our Demy, the first and only digital recipe reader. Please email me at sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if you’re interested. Thanks 🙂
@ Sangeeth: who does’nt love bajjis??
@ Sig: ssshhh dont say that it wont kill…..have you seen what my hips look like?
@ Divya: thanks !!
@ Pavani: thank you for dropping by
@ Alka: rains and bajjis are a marriage made in heaven
@ Happy Cook: Once a week!! i am coming over!!
@ Mansi: i too am partial to onion
@ Anjali: Thank you
@ Priyanka: they surely can comfort anyone…
@ Sandhiya: yes…a year…and K was doing the counting!!
@ Anita: we are consuming the prescribed amount….or more than i think….do you know we’re self respecting southies who will down gunpowder and oil by the kilo? them chocolates wont be as enticing once you do it professionally…ghar ki murgi….enjoy the pooris and Vijay Dashmi!!
@ Bhawana: once they’re made….i cant eat less!!
@ Aditi: hey!! thanks for stopping by…yeah at times i survived on those mirchi bajjis and that awesome chutney….by far the best i have tasted
This reminds me of the bhaji-wala who had the cart behind the hostel. Man I miss Indian food so much.
you are right :). even I try my best not make anything deep fried. but my husband loves all kind of deep fry food. So I cant avoid it much. just that I eat less :).
You need to fry more often! You do know that healthy people need to consume 25-30gms of fat daily! Given how conscious we are of our fat intake most times, this leaves ample room for occasional deep frying! [Them chocolates have fat too!]
So you can do this, guilt free, more often than you think!
It has been a good bhajji season this end of the country…
I have decided to fry some pooris tomorrow – you know Vijay Dashmi and all that. 😀
🙂 I know what you mean by, “mostly fall prey to the excitement deep frying generates for K”
OMG a year you haven’t deep fried anything how could you??????IBW those bajjis are soo good to look…It’s deep fried ,so must be yummy and crispy
These bhajjis used to be the best comfort foods when it rained in India or when i used to live in NY and it snowed..
Nice writeup! Lovely bhajjis. The scenario at our house is pretty much the same and DH manages to ride me on the guilt trip. Works like a charm for him everytime and I end up packing on calories 😦
interesting entry.. i always love bhajjis..
Perfect with tea.One year is too long yaar! I deep fry something atleast once a month..
I love onion bhajjis, the only ones I love more than aloo!! rfied foods have their own tate yaar, no one can beat that!
thanks for all your wishes for FFCafe gal! glad to know you liked the new site!:)
Wish I was like you reluctant to fry.
I fry almost ones a week in oil.
I love bhajis especially with hot chai
Wow wished that frying would have been the healthiest way of cooking…..imagine that eating bhajis and crispy fried things would have been declared as healthy food eating habits….wht a wonderful place this world would be then???
Jokes apart ..i just want to make this ASAP with the rains bidding goodbye(those last days of pitter patter with thunderstorms…wow)i need to enjoy these bahjis with a cup of hot tea before the monsoon magic disappear!
hai,first time to ur blo.u have nice blog…bajjis looks mouthwatering to eat right from ur plate…
The bajjis looks delightful, and more than that I enjoyed your write up… Two of you giving into temptation… salivating into the hot oil! LOL
Deep frying once in a while certainly won’t kill ya! 🙂 I would love to have hot snacks like this with my evening coffee, but I am way too lazy to make snacks 😦
lovely write up! Bajjis are my fav and i really can get conviced by the deep fried part!