Bajji/Assorted Bajji/Vegetable Bajji

Bajji is a favourite South Indian fried teatime snack. The ingredients are very less and its easy to prepare with whatever veggie is available at home. I am a big fan of bajji and so are others in my family. My mom used to make small hot bajjis and I used to eat it without keeping count of it. In shops or restaurants we will not be able to eat more than 2 or 3. But at home, the number is infinite. When I talk about bajji, I should surely mention the bajjis available at Besant Nagar Elliots beach in Chennai. If you are not worried about the oil once in a while, the bajjis taste heavenly there. I too came to know of it only through my mom's boss and his family who took us there once especially for the bajji! Wow, it tasted awesome. Now, over to the recipe.

Ingredients

• Besan flour/channa dal flour - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 1 cup
• Assorted sliced vegetables - Potato/Raw banana/Onion/Capsicum/Brinjal
• Chilly powder - 2 to 3 tsp (adjust to your taste)
• Asafoetida powder - A pinch
• Ghee - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Orange food colour (optional)
• Oil - As needed to fry
• Salt - As needed
• Water - As needed

 Method

•   Slice all the veggies thin and keep aside. I used potatoes and capsicum for the bajjis.

•  In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except the veggies and water.

• Now add water to the mix and make a pourable batter.

• You can keep this aside for about 10 minutes for the spiciness to get absorbed in the batter.
• Meanwhile heat a kadai with oil to fry.
• Then dip the sliced veggies one by one in the batter until the veggies get coated well with the batter. Immediately drop them in the hot oil and fry them one by one or in batches until golden brown. Turn the bajjis around with a ladle while frying.

• After frying, drain  them in a strainer vessel and a paper towel.
• Serve hot with tomato sauce or coconut chutney or even left over sambar from lunch.
• I always like to have it as such.