Aloo Bonda is an Indian snack that features a spiced potato filling encased in a gram flour batter and deep-fried to golden perfection.

Aloo Bonda is a vegetarian deep fried potato snack that has a spiced potato filling encased in a golden and crispy chickpea flour/besan batter.

These bondas are a fantastic tea time snack or an after-school snack or just a great appetizer that you can serve at a dinner party. They are a common feature of wedding food, especially in the South.

Aloo Bonda also goes by the name of Batata Vada in the North of India but has slightly different spices. Batata Vada is a central ingredient in the famous Mumbai snack – Vada Pav.

Bonda is a term used to describe a spherical deep fried dish in Karnataka – there are few more varieties of Bonda like Mangalore Bonda or Egg bonda.

Aloo Bonda is also popular street food in Bangalore served by Bajji Angadis found in almost all street corners in the older parts of Bangalore. I remember walking up to the Bajji uncle at the end of my lane to pick up 20 bajjis for 10 rupees. I used to wait for that uncle to make every single variety of bajji he made, but especially waited a long time in case he had run out of Aloo Bonda. I have fresh memories of biting into that hot and spicy bonda while walking back home with a newspaper packet full of bajjis.

Ingredients for Aloo Bonda

For the potato mixture – potatoes, of course! You also have to make a ginger-green chilli paste, which acts as a flavouring agent in the potatoes. You can add up to 3 green chillies for 4-5 medium-sized potatoes.

To make the potato mixture, the ingredients you need are – Curry leaves, mustard seeds, coriander leaves and lemon juice.

The Ingredients for the batter are – Besan or black chickpea flour/ Kadala maavu / Kadale hittu, rice flour, salt and turmeric powder.

Finally, you will need 250 ml of cooking oil to deep fry the vadas.

How to make Aloo Bonda | Batata Vada

The first step is to cook the potatoes and prepare the batter before deep frying them.

Making the potato mixture

Wash the potatoes and add them to a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles. Once the pressure has come down, open the lid and allow the potatoes to cool down. This step is crucial since you do not want excess moisture in the potato mash. If you peel the skin and mash the potatoes before they come to room temperature, the moisture content will be more.

Mash the potatoes and keep aside.

Next, add an inch of ginger and 2 green chillies to a mixer and grind it into a smooth paste with a teaspoon of water. This paste will help in giving the aloo mixture a nice spice throughout the bonda instead of biting into a piece of ginger or green chilli.

Place a pan on medium heat and add a teaspoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and curry leaves and saute them for a few seconds. Next, add the ginger-green chilli paste and cook it until the raw smell goes away – reduce the heat to low.

Next, add the mashed potato, along with the turmeric powder and salt. Mix well until you have thoroughly combined all the ingredients.

Turn off the flame, add garnish with coriander leaves and drizzle of lemon juice. Mix well and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Allow this Aloo mixture to cool down. Make small equal sized balls of the aloo mixture and keep side.

It’s time to deep fry the Aloo bonda potato balls.

Making the Batter

Into a bowl, add one cup besan and one tablespoon of rice flour. Add the seasonings – turmeric powder and salt. Mix all these dry ingredients thoroughly. Add water little by little until the batter’s consistency has reached as that of a dosa batter. It should not be too thick or too thin.

Keep the batter aside.

Deep Frying the Bondas

Place a deep kadai and add cooking oil to it. Let the oil warm up in a low-medium heat. You can test if the oil is hot or not by adding a drop of the batter. If the batter rises to the top of the oil, then the oil is perfect for deep frying.

Dip the potato balls into the batter fully and transfer them one by one to the hot oil. Use can use a spoon to coat the batter onto the potato mixture. Drop them gently into the oil. Use a slotted spoon and turn them once the bubbling has reduced a little. Keep moving the vada in the oil so that they don’t sink to the bottom.

Remove them from the oil when you see golden colour appear on the outside. Transfer to a kitchen tissue and serve hot with a dip of your choice.

What is the difference between Aloo Bonda and Batata Vada

Both Aloo Bonda and Batata vada look similar, but the difference is in the taste. Aloo bonda usually does not contain garlic in the ingredients, but Batata Vada does.

Batata Vada batter does not include rice flour or turmeric powder in them. So they yield a light yellow colour when deep fried. Aloo Bonda batter does have a tablespoon of rice flour to help with the crisping it up. When deep fried, aloo bonda comes out with a golden colour, thanks to the addition of turmeric powder.

Shelf Life and Storage

The bondas are best consumed immediately when hot from the oil. However, they can stored at room temperature for 3-4 hours. They will be fine. I do not recommend storing aloo bonda in the fridge.

You may store the prepared aloo mixture in the fridge for making fresh bondas the next day.

It is also best to discard any leftover batter and make a fresh batch of batter if you have any leftover aloo mixture.

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