Everyday Cooking

Monday, April 14, 2008

Mixed Vegetable Bhaji


Onion Bhajis are quite popular as a snack or appetiser item in the UK. Like most Indian dishes that could be found in the west, I'm not really sure about the authenticity of the recipes used but they taste great :-)
I am taking more liberty with the bhaji, adding more vegetables in the mix to make these crisp, mildly-spiced fritters. I hope my Indian friends won't mind...
These are best made with chickpea flour (gram flour, chana besan). I suppose plain flour could be substituted but one would miss out on the sublte, nutty, chick pea flavour.

Mixed Vegetable Bhaji

2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup thinly sliced brown onion
1 cup julienned sweet potato
1/2 cup julienned zucchini
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt
cold water
oil for frying

1 tsp mint leaves, chopped finely
1/2 cup natural yogurt

In a bowl, mix together the flour and spices. Add the vegetables and mix well. If the batter is too dry, add some cold water, a tablespoon at a time. You do not want a runny batter, it should be thick enough to make patties out of.
Season with salt. Take a tablespoon of the batter at a time, form into balls and flatten with your palms to form patties.

Heat up the oil and deep-fry the patties until crisp. Let the fritters sit on paper towels prior to serving.

In a small bowl, pour the mint leaves into the yogurt and stir. Serve the bhajis with this dip.



15 comments:

Manggy said...

Great shot Desie!

I've not heard of Bhajis before but the recipe looks great! (I wonder where one gets chickpea flour...)

tigerfish said...

great snack for the outdoors :)

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Peter M said...

What a wonderful appetizer & snack this would make and it's healthier than buying junk for the kids.

Anonymous said...

The mint and yogurt dip looks perfect for fried foods.

test it comm said...

This is the first that I have heard of bhaji. These vegetable bhaji sound good. I like the sweet potatoes and the spice combination.

zlamushka said...

Who would not love this lovely appetizer.

Cynthia said...

I wish I could have some of these right now. I am hungry but do not have the energy to go make anything :(

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Desie,
I love Vegetable Bhaji but never tried to make them myself yet... thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hope life is good :)
Margot

Deborah said...

Wow - these sound delicious!

Charles said...

It does look good...hhhhmmm...anyway

Your food pictures look amazing! I’d love to know how your setup is when picturing your food.

Charles
http://pampanguenacafe.wordpress.com

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