Another traditional dish which I learned from my grandmother. Traditionally this is made with Chinese Okra which is grown abundantly in Vasai and is generally available throughout the monsoon season (June-September). These crispy fritters are perfect accompaniments with fish curry and rice.
Chinese Okra is not available in US supermarkets, but can be sometimes be found in Asian and Indian grocery stores. I have used Zucchini here instead.
Ingredients: Makes about 24 fritters
1 medium Zucchini
1medium red onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped fine
1 green chilli, chopped fine
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp meat masala
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup chick pea flour
salt
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Cut the Zucchini into 4 slices lengthwise. Taking two slices at a time, chop them finely into strip. Add to a bowl with all the remaining ingredients except for the oil, rice flour and chick pea flour. Allow to rest for about an hour. This was my grandma’s trick to avoid adding water to the batter. When you let the mixture of Zucchini and onions stand for a while, the salt draws out the water from the veggies which is enough to form a batter.
Add the rice flour and chickpea flour to form a thick batter (thicker than pancake batter). Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a saute pan(preferably non stick) on medium heat. Drop the batter one tablespoon at a time, flattening it with the base of the spoon. Fry on each side till they are brown, remove on paper towels to drain excess oil.
Notes:
- Add extra rice flour if the batter isn’t thick enough.
- The batter can be frozen for up to 1 week.
- If using Chinese okra, peel the Okra, slit it into half lengthwise, seed it and slice it thinly.
- You could use 1/2 tsp chili powder,1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin powder and 1/2 tsp coriander powder instead of the meat masala.
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