Aloo Pakora | Potato Bajji
Potato Bajji or Aloo Pakoras are potatoes coated in gram flour batter and deep fried to a crispy perfection.
Ingredients
- 2 Potatoes medium sized
- 250 ml Cooking oil for frying
For the batter
- 3 tbsp Besan (chickpea flour)
- 1 tbsp Rice flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
- ½ tsp Asafoetida powder
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Not too thin or too thick. Make sure to cut them all in the same size to ensure they cook evenly.
- Once they are sliced, add them to a bowl of water and keep aside.
- To make the bajji batter, add all the ingredients listed in the "for the batter section" - besan, rice flour, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida powder. Mix all the ingredients well with the help of a whisk.
- Add water little by little to make a smooth batter. The batter should not be too thin. If it gets too thin, it will not stick to the surface of the potatoes. If the batter it too thick, you will get very "doughy" bajjis that won't taste great. Do a little taste test to ensure the salt and spice levels are to your liking.
- Place a kadai on a medium flame and add the oil. I always take as small a kadai and as minimum oil as possible to avoid oil wastage.
- Once the oil is warm, take a tablespoon of this warm oil and mix it into the batter. This step will help crisp up the bajjis.
- To check if the oil is ready, do a drop test.Dip two fingers into the batter and slowly drop the batter into the oil - if the batter sticks to the bottom, the oil is not ready. Let it warm up for some more time. If the batter slowly comes up, the oil is ready. If the flame is on high, reduce the flame to a place between high and medium. If the batter comes up too quickly, it means the oil has overheated and you have to reduce the flame to low right away. Let the smoking stop and then you can begin making the pakoras.
- Take a slice of potato and dip it in the batter on both sides. Slowly drop it into the oil. Fry all the potatoes in small batches without overcrowding the oil. This will help the bajjis cook through well. Once the bubbling stops on one side, with the help of a slotted spoon, turn the bajjis over to the other side to cook.
- Once the bajjis have a nice golden colour, remove from the oil and place it on a plate lined with kitchen tissue. Continue this process until all the potato slices have been used.
- Serve your hot Potato Bajjis with coconut chutney or eat it plain along with a hot cup of chai.