BAJJIS & PAKODAS

A hot favorite of Indians is the easy-to-make and tasty snack – known as ‘bajji’ in South India and ‘pakode’ in the rest of India. 

The main ingredient in the batter is gram flour and bajjis are made with a variety of veggies as well as bread, paneer and Kerala plantain. Nothing to beat a plateful of sizzling hot bajjis for tea time with hot cuppa tea - that too on a rainy evening! In fact most families would coax the lady of the house, saying, “It’s the apt time for pakode” on a typical monsoon weekend as the clouds from the heavens water the earth…..

All Indians enjoy this dish, most of you know the recipe but you will find a few tips and suggestions and tempting pics in this post!

Pakodas are a popular evening snack / tasty starters in every part of India. Assorted platefuls of yummy pakodas vanish in no time at get-togethers! Some use the term ‘bajji’ when a thin slice of vegetable is dipped in gram flour batter and fried – potato bajji / ‘vazhakka’ (raw banana) bajji, ‘kathirikka’ (brinjal) bajji, ‘vengaaya’ (onion) bajji and ‘molaga’ (green chilli) bajji are popular in South India. Usually 'pakodas' refer to the crisp ones and 'bajjis' to the softer variety.

In Kerala, ‘pazham pori’ (actually what I would choose to call ‘nendrapazha bajji’) made with long and ripe Kerala plantain is very popular and are available in most hotels and tea-stalls. They also make crisp ‘vengaaya’ (onion) pakoda – which is different from vengaaya bajji. 

North Indians choose to use the term ‘pakode’ for all varieties – including their special ‘palak’ (spinach) pakode.

My secret ingredient is 'dosa' batter. Yes, I use 1 tbsp of dosa batter instead of a tsp of rice flour and a pinch of baking soda to prepare the besan batter. The bajjis / pakodas turn out soft and fluffy and less oily; but less crisp as well. But if you are die-hard fans of crisp and oily pakodas, go in for rice flour and baking soda. So take your pick according to your preference. Oh yes, you have a choice only if there is dosa batter at home!

The batter for all pakodas is the same. The recipe for the batter is given at the beginning – it is sufficient to make pakodas to serve 2. Make pakodas of your choice.

Assorted bajjis

Use different veggies as mentioned in each variety of bajji. If you plan to make several varieties remember to prepare enough batter for all varieties. Or you can make more batter as per your requirement when the first lot gets over.

Bajji batter

Ingredients

1. Gram flour (besan) – 1 cup
2. Rice flour – 1 tbsp
3. Baking soda – a pinch
4. Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder (optional) – 1 tsp
6. Asafetida – ¼ tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Hot oil – 1 - 1 ½ tsp

Method

1. In a bowl, mix gram flour, rice flour, baking soda, red chilli powder, asafetida, coriander powder and salt.
2.  Add ½ - ¾ cup of water and whisk well for at least 5 minutes to make a fairly thick batter and set aside for 5 minutes. (No big deal about the consistency of the batter - if the batter is thick, then you can enjoy a thickly coated bajji. If the batter is runny, the bajjis will have a thinner covering!)
3.  Just before making pakodas, add 1 ½ tsp of hot oil and mix well – this will add to its crispness.

Tips

1. You can make the batter without the rice flour and baking soda too.
2. As I said earlier, I prefer to use dosa batter in place of rice flour and baking soda. I mix 1 cup of gram flour, 1 tbsp of dosa batter, red chilli powder, asafetida and salt. Then I add ½ - ¾ cup of water and make a thick batter, blending it well with my hand and set it aside for 10 minutes. There is no need of adding hot oil. My bajjis are fluffy and soft and almost oil-free!

Special Molaga (large green chilli) bajji

This is made with the special variety of green chillies – big, and somewhat spicy. The recipe is slightly different but the batter is the same.

Ingredients

1. Large chillies – 8
2. Coriander powder - 1 ½ tsp
3. Amchur (dry mango powder) - ¾ tsp
4. Black salt. – ½ tsp.

Method

1. Wash, dry and slit each green chilli all along its length leaving both the ends intact (including the stem).
2. Mix all the powders well.
3. Take ¼ tsp of the powder mix and spread all along the inside of each green chilli and close the edges together.
4. Repeat with all the chillies.
5. Make a few slight cuts on the green chillies so that the soft exterior will become a bit rough and the batter will coat the chillies and not slip away.
6. Heat oil in a pan.
7. Hold each green chilli at the stem tip and dip it in the thick gram flour batter, taking care to coat the entire chilli with batter and quickly drop it in hot oil. If you find some part of the chilli without batter-coating, add a drop of batter at that spot.
8. Repeat with 2 more chillies and fry on medium heat till they are golden brown on all sides and drain off.
9. Repeat with the other batch of chillies.
10. Hot, spicy and tangy ‘molaga bajjis’ are ready to sizzle your tongues!

Nendrapazha bajji 

Use 1 big ripe Kerala plantain. Peel and cut the banana in 2 parts. Make thin slices of each. Dip each slice till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Potato bajji

Ingredients

1. Potato (medium-sized) - 1
2. Oil for frying

Method

1. Meanwhile peel and slice a potato in thin circles and sprinkle a little salt on them.
2. Heat oil in fry pan.
3. When the oil is hot, dip each potato slice in the batter so that it is fully coated with batter and put it gently in the hot oil. 
4. Repeat with 4-5 potato slices and lower the heat.
5. Gently separate them if they touch one another and flip after a minute.
6. When they turn light brown on both sides, remove from oil and drain on to a tissue paper to remove excess oil.
7. Repeat with the rest of the potato slices.
8. Serve hot with tomato ketchup / chutney.

Kathirikka (Brinjal) bajji

 Use 2 medium sized brijals.

Wash and make thin slices of each, spread them on a plate and sprinkle a little salt over them.

Dip each slice till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Vaazhakka (raw banana) bajji

Use 1 raw banana

Wash, peel and cut the banana in 3 parts.

Make thin slices of each, spread them on a plate and sprinkle a little salt over them. Dip each slice till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Palak (spinach) pakoda 

                                     

Use 12-14 spinach leaves.

Wash and dry the spinach leaves. Dip each leaf till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Onion bajji 

Use 2 medium sized onions.

Wash and peel the onions.

Make thin slices of each, spread them on a plate and sprinkle a little salt over them. Dip each slice till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Onion rings

When you are making onion bajjis, remove rings from a couple of onion slices, dip them in the batter and fry them. Remember, they’ll be ready in a minute or two.

Kids will love them.

Bread pakoda

Use 4 slices of bread.

Cut each bread slice into 4 triangles.

Dip each piece in the batter and fry till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Tips – For this variety, you can add chopped coriander leaves and green chillies to the batter to enhance the taste.

Onion pakoda 

Make this at the end – to finish up the remaining batter!

Use 1 big onion.

Wash, peel and chop the onion finely.

Also finely chop fresh coriander leaves (2-3 tbsp) and 3 green chillies, and 1” piece ginger and add them to the thick gram flour batter.

Add a tsp of hot oil (optional). Mix well.

Heat oil in a pan.

Drop one tsp of the batter in the hot oil.

Repeat to drop 5-7 batter-balls in the oil.

Lower the heat if required and fry till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Tips

If you have some left-over onion pakodas, keep them in the fridge and use them to make Punjabi Kadhi for lunch the next day!

So you see how popular a bottomless colander of bajjis / pakodas are!

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.