Vazhakka Bajji / Vazhakkai Bajji ~ Raw Banana Fritters
Crispy fried raw bananas in a salty and slightly spicy chickpea flour batter, these Vazhakka Bajjis are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of hot chai in the evening!
Servings 4 (Makes about 12 - 15)
Ingredients
- Vazhakkai / Vazhakka / Raw Bananas - 2 peeled and cut vertically into thin slices (you can cut them in half once again too)
- Besan Gram flour - 1 cup
- Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
- Red Chilli powder / Cayenne - 3 tsp it might seem like a lot, but I have seen that when you fry it, the heat goes down. To be safe - add some chilli, fry one batch, taste test and add more if you want
- Asafetida powder - a pinch
- Salt - to taste
- Baking soda - a pinch optional
- Sunflower / Coconut Oil - enough for deep frying
Instructions
- Mix the besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, asafetida, salt and baking soda well. Add enough water to it to make it almost as thin a batter as for pancakes. Don't make it too thin and it won't stick to the bananas then.
- Heat the oil in a pan till almost smoking hot, reduce the heat a little, but still on high. Dip the cut banana slices, one by one, into the batter and put them slowly in the hot oil. Turn them around after a minute or so and fry till golden brown. If the oil is too hot then the fritters will turn brown quickly but the insides and the banana would not have cooked properly. So, it is important to keep the oil hot enough so that it fried well and also not so hot that it doesn't get cooked.
- Drain on paper towels and serve with tomato ketchup or coconut chutney and of course, a nice hot cup of chai!