Snowy day Snacks - 2

The biggest blizzard of 2010 has come and is slowly moving away. It lasted all day long and made us crave some comfort food. So I turned to the real Indian comfort food idea - vegetable fritters called Bajjis. These can be made with a number of different vegetables, the most popular being aaloo (potato). Personally my favorite is hot green chillies, a specific kind sold just for making bajjis. And that taste can not be achieved with any type of chillies available here in US. The best option would be to use either jalapeno or serrano chillies if you like it hot. For a milder taste you can use anaheim peppers. Today we had a mix of chillies, aaloo and eggplant (vankaya) bajjis. So without further ado, the recipe.

Ingredients
3 long hot peppers, cut in halves
2 small eggplants, sliced thinly
1 small potato, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cups besan (chickpea four)
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsps ajwain powder
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying.

Prepare all the vegetables as suggested above. Keep the potatoes and eggplants covered with water to avoid darkening because of oxidation. Mix the besan, spices and salt thoroughly. Now add water slowly to make a thick batter without any lumps. When the vegetables are dipped in the batter, it should stick to vegetable and cover it with a thick layer.
Heat oil in a deep thick bottomed vessel ( wok or kadai ) over medium high heat and deep fry the first test batch. Fry till golden brown, remove and drain on a paper towel. At this point, carefully taste the hot 'bajji' for salt, batter state and doneness. If vegetable is raw, it should be in oil longer. If the cooked layer of batter deflates after being taken out of oil and lies limp on the vegetable, it means he batter is too thin. Add a little besan to correct it. If the outer layer is to dry when you bite into it, the batter is too thick. Add a little water to correct this.
Only after testing the first batch should you go ahead with the rest of the vegetables. This way it is assured that the remaining fritters will taste just right. And the ones in the last batch are mostly the best ones ( as a result of constant tasting and correcting after each batch). Give this batch to the people you want to impress!
These fritters taste good alone or served with your favorite kind of ketchup/sauce. Always enjoy these hot and with a cup of steaming 'chai' (tea latte). The most comforting food on a blustery winter day.