Ingredients
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3 cups Chick-Pea FlourAlso called Garbanzo Bean flour or Besan
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1.5 TSP Salt
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1 TSP Red Chili Powder
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1.5 TSP Coriander Powder
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1/2 TSP Garam Masala
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1 TSP Carom Seeds
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1 Cup Fresh CilantroChopped
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3/4 Cup WaterAdd in Stages
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2 TBSP OilFor Paste
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Chunks Cauliflower1/2 LBS
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1 ZucchiniPealed and diced
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3 Whole Jalapeños PeppersHalved and gutted
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1 PotatoBoiled and corsly mashed
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1 TSP Fennel Seeds
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1/4 Lbs SpinachMicrowave for 1m and squeeze water out
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3 Cups OilTo Deep-Fry
Directions
Chick-Pea (garbanzo beans or gram) flour is very popular in India for making many deep fried snacks. It is spiced up and vegetables are dipped in it before deep frying them.
In India this snack is very popular on rainy days. In monsoon season – June-Sep, when it is drizzling, most households prepare these as afternoon snack. These make very good appetizers, cocktail snacks and picnic food. While these are popular all over India and they are crunchy from outside, in my hometown variant, these are extra soft from inside. It is because the batter contains little oil and pinch of baking soda.
Batter is spices up with coriander powder, chilis, Garam Masala, salt, and carom (also called ajwain) seeds. Latter gives them a unique flavor.
There are many choices for what can be wrapped up in this batter before deep-frying. This batter alone is delicious once deep-fried. But one can wrap Paneer, Onions, potato, zucchini, spinach, cabbage, green chili, broccoli, mushrooms, even banana in it.
My simple demo does not show chopping. But looking at cuts, one can easily manage it. Exception is how I pre-treated spinach. Once can use fresh spinach leaves, but I took a bunch and cooked them in microwave for 1 min, squeezed them and made cherry-sized balls beforehand. My wife like lot of spinach and this way I can pack a lot in each piece.
My 5-ingredient chutney goes very well with these.
Steps
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1
Done
5 min
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Prepare Chick-Pea PasteAdd oil, salt, red chili powder, carom seeds, coriander powder, garam masala and pinch of baking soda to dry chick-pea flour in a bowl. Add water in steps to make a dipping-sauce consistency paste. Set aside for 10 min. |
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2
Done
5 min
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Prepare Frying VegetablesStuff potatoes mixed with pinch of salt and fennel seeds into jalapeños halves. Cut Cauliflower florets. Dice Zucchini in rounds, Microwave spinach for 1 min and squeeze water out. Make cherry-sized balls. Chop Onions fine. |
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3
Done
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Deep-FryHeat oil in a deep pan for approximately 350 degree F. Easy test for temperature is when a drop of dough paste is added, it should float right up. A Medium-high setting on stove would maintain good frying temperature. Add vegetables one by one into chick-pea paste, and gently turn them. Fry until these become golden brown from outside. It takes 3-5 min of frying per batch. Harvest individually as they change color and sizzling is reduced. |
