Bhajjis –  and I remember pouring rain and my family sitting at home, watching tv or chatting sipping piping hot cups of decoction coffee. A favourite of my uncles though would be the Balajee Bhavan bhajji which would be an astounding reddish orange colour and smelling so heavenly. The bhajjis would be served with thick coconut chutney and spicy tomato chutney and would be devoured in no time. Everytime my uncles would come from Delhi, they would have their monring breakfast the very first day, only from Balajee Bhavan. And he would take one of us to go with him….there would be an unwritten rule, that the child that accompanies him, would get to eat the bhajji and Venn Pongal piping hot at the restaurant and then there would be a considerable parcel packed for home. On one such occasion, as we were eating, my uncle asked me ” You are so lucky to be living in T.nagar that too so close to BB. When was the last time you came here?” and I promptly replied “When you came  here the last time uncle”!!! and he was astounded…The truth really was that  we live so close to many hotels and restaurants. but we never frequent them…Now living so many thousands of miles away….my thoughts wander around my home and its niceness and familiarity.

Last weekend, it poured so much that my husband was suddenly hungry for bhajjis. I hardly ever make it these days because of the oil and the general laziness of making a batter, cutting the vegetables so thin and then frying it in oil. This time, even I felt like having it, and so I set round to making them. I was out of brinjals and so I made them with Onions, Green Plantain and Alu.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Gram Flour or Besan.

1/2 cup Rice Flour.

1 spoon chilli powder.

1 spoon salt.

Hing

1 cup of Water

Oil for frying.

1 Alu, 1 Plantain, 1 Onion.

PREPARATION:

• Pour sufficient oil in to a medium sized kadai with a flat base. Keep the flame on low so that the oil is ready to be used by the time the  other prep works are done.
• Peel the onion, plantain and alu. Slice them in to thin cross sectional circles and set aside.
• Keep the batter mixing to the end as besan tends to change consistency over a period of time.
• Add besan, rice flour, hing, salt and red chilli powder to a mixing bowl. Measure out the required water.
• Although I have mentioned 1 cup, first add 3/4 cup and then slowly if needed ,you can add the remaining 1/4 cup little by little.
• The batter should be thick and NOT a thin pouring consistency.

• Now dip the vegetables one by one, and carefully drop in to the heated oil.
• Allow to cook well on both sides and drain on to a collander lined with kitchen tissue.
• Serve HOT with thick coconut chutney and a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Sending this to WYF – Fried Snack Event happening at SimpleIndianFood.