Bada Savory Indian Snack Food

BADA - SAVORY INDIAN SNACK

Steps:

• Soak 1/2 cup urad dal and 1/2 cup moong dal in a large bowl of water for 2-3 hours. Drain excess water, and grind to a smooth paste in a food processor.
• Add hing/asafetida, salt, green chilies, coriander leaves, ginger and baking soda. This should be a nice thick batter.
• In hot ghee or oil, shape batter into doughnut-like shapes with a hole in the center and fry the bada in batches on both sides until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
• Serve with a fresh chutney such as coriander.

CHILLI BITES (BHAJIA)

Steps:

• Heat oil in saucepan.
• Combine all ingredients for the chilli bite mix.
• Add veg and herbs to it and combine.
• Add water if necessary to make it a fairly thick batter.
• Drop tsp size amounts into hot oil.
• When golden brown (should take about 1 minute), remove and drain on paper towels.
• NOTE: If you can purchase ready made chilli bite/ bhajia mix from a store or an Indian grocer omit the mix, and just add to it the herbs and veg. Don't bother trying to make round shapes, just drop small amounts of the batter into the hot oil. The hotter the oil the less oil absorbed by the bhajia, therefore drop in small quantities to make sure the inside is cooked.

PAKORAS

Steps:

• Combine flour and baking soda.
• Add cold water slowly.
• Stir until moistened.
• Add rest of ingredients but don't over-mix.
• Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot oil.
• Fry until both sides are golden brown.
• Caution: Don't put too much dough in at once, or it will turn out gooey in the middle.