VAZHAKKAI BAJJI RECIPE/ PLANTAIN FRITTERS

     Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters is a popular South Indian tea time snack.  Yet another crispy and spicy snack to glorify the uncrowned tea time.  Thinly sliced Raw Plantains are dipped in a spicy batter and then deep-fried until they turn crispy. Bajji is one of the most popular Indian Street Food found in every nook and corner of South Indian states. The memories of biting into Crispy Vazhakkai Bhajji wrapped in a torn old newspaper(cheap or at no cost, readily available so-called paper towel for a street vendor) are still so fresh and close to heart.
     Call it for a rainy day or just a moody evening, comes along an excuse for some spicy & crispy snack to rejuvenate the spirits.  A Bajji Recipe is a quick fix & a simple recipe with very few ingredients which are readily available in the pantry, i.e for the Batter.  Then comes the task to decide what could be used to make Bajji - Vazhakkai(Plantain), Onions, Potatoes, Green Chillies(Bajji Milagai), Eggplant(Brinjal) or Bread/Idlis.
     When it comes to Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters, only certain varieties of Raw Bananas are suitable for the purpose. The colour of the Plantain should be Green, firm and hard to hold and moreover it should not be ripe.  Plantains taste tarty as the Sugar has yet not developed, it has more or less the taste and flavour of a Potato which makes it suitable for making fritters.
     Peel, Cut and thinly slice the Plantains into the desired shape, dip them in the spicy batter and deep fry until crispy.  There you go with an instant treat - Hot & Spicy Vazhakkai Bajji. Try the same recipe with Onions, Potatoes, Chillies etc., Serve Hot Bajjis with Coconut Chutney/Green Chutney or any ketchup/sauce of your choice. Or simply bite it up with a Cup of Hot Coffee/Tea.
    The thought of Bajjis is quite reminiscent of a Ponnu Pakkara scenes.  The occasion where the family of a Bridegroom visits the proposed Bride's house where they treat the family with light and simple Sweets & Snacks(BAJJI SOJJI), hot-hot Coffee/Tea in midst of the Pen Pakkum Padalam.


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Cuisine - South Indian
Recipe Type - Snacks
Spice Level  -Medium
Difficulty - Easy
Serves - 3-4
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 5-10 Minutes
Cooking Time - 10-15 Minutes

VAZHAKKAI BAJJI RECIPE/ PLANTAIN FRITTERS

INGREDIENTS:

For Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters:

Raw Plantains - 2 Nos.
Water - 2 Cups
Salt - 1/2 Tspn

For the Bajji Batter :

Bengal Gram Dhal Flour/Besan - 1/2 Cup
Corn Flour - 1/4 Cup
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tspn
Asafoetida -1/8 Tspn
Sodium bi Carbonate - 3 Pinches(Optional)
Salt - To Taste
Water - as required
Hot Oil - 1 Tbspn

To Deep Fry :

Oil - to Deep Fry

                         HOW TO MAKE                                VAZHAKKAI BAJJI / PLANTAIN FRITTERS

VAZHAKKAI BAJJI RECIPE/ PLANTAIN FRITTERS

METHOD :

How to Clean and Slice Plantains:

• Peel the skin of the Plantains with a knife or a peeler.
• Cut the Plantains into two equal halves and then vertically cut them into thin slices. 
• Immediately put the cut slices into salted water and keep them aside.

For the Bajji Batter:

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned under ' For the Bajji Batter'.
• Let the batter be slightly thicker than the Dosa Batter.
• Add little water at a time and mix the batter without any lumps.
• Adjust the amount of water as required.
• Pour in the Hot Oil finally into the batter and mix well.

For Vazhakkai Bajji:

• Heat Oil in a deep pan on a high flame and allow it to smoke off.
• Lower the flame to medium-high.
• Remove the sliced Plantains from the salted water and allow it to dry on a paper towel for a very brief time.
• Dip the Plantain slices into the Bajji Batter and coat them well with the batter on both the sides.
• Immediately drop Batter coated Plantain slices into the hot oil one by one.
• Deep fry the  Batter coated Plantain slices on a medium-high flame until they turn into golden brown in colour and crispy.
• Remove the deep fried Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters from the oil and allow them to drain on a paper towel.
• Serve Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters hot along with Coconut Chutney/Green Chutney or any other chutney of your choice.
• Goes well with Tomato Ketchup/ Chilli Sauce too.

 

NOTES:

• The peel of raw bananas are tough to be removed unlikely to bananas
• Peel the skin with a Peeler or a Knife.
• The Plantain juice is slightly sticky & can stain your hands and cloth.
• Rub your hands with oil before peeling & slicing the Plantains.
• Immediately drop the sliced plantains into salted water.
• Otherwise, they may turn dark and stained.
• Leave them in salted water until you use them.
• Just before dipping the Plantain slices into the batter, drain them on paper towels for a brief time. 
• Otherwise, the batter may get watery and not stick to the plantain slices.
• The Bajji Batter should be slightly thicker than the Dosa/Pancake Batter.
• Add little water at a time, while mixing the ingredients for the batter.
• Adding Sodium bi Carbonate to the batter is truly optional, but yields crispy Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters.
• If using it do not leave the batter for a long time, which may make the Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters Oily.
• Mix the Batter and immediately use them for best results.
• Adding hot oil to the Batter is one trick to get crispy Vazhakkai Bajji/Plantain Fritters.