Spicy potato and onion fritters (Mumbai batata vada and kanda bhaji)

Ingredients

For potato vadas

5-6 medium potatoes

6-7 Curry leaves

4-5 garlic cloves

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 chopped green chillies

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

For batter: 

1-1.5 cup gram flour (besan)

1/2 cup water

Salt to taste

Recipe:

1. Pressure cook the potatoes to get them completely cooked (about 10 mins).

2. Chop the cilantro, green chillies, garlic. To preheated oil, add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Then add the above chopped chillies, garlic, curry leaves, and cilantro. Take off the stove and let it cool.

3. Add the cooled mixture to the cooled, peeled potatoes, mix. Add salt. Mix to evenly distribute the salt. Make small ping pong sized balls.

5. Prepare the batter for coating the batata vadas. To the gram flour (besan), very slowly add little quantities of water and keep stirring as you add water.

6. Add water till the desired thick flowing consistency of the batter is obtained. You may have used more than 1/2 cup of water, that is ok. Make sure the batter consistency is not too thin, or else it does not evenly coat the batata vadas made.

7. Dip the potato balls into the batter to evenly coat the balls with batter. Deep fry in preheated oil. Cook on one side and then turn carefully to cook on the other side. ***Be extremely careful with boiling hot oil. It can burn your skin. Do not get it on your body parts. The frying should be done only under adult supervision.***

8. Once the potato balls are evenly cooked, drain the excess oil and remove from the oil. Soak the excess oil by placing on tissue paper.

9. I had extra batter remaining after I made all the batata vadas. I chopped onions into long and also round shape and dipped into the remaining batter to make onion fries. Enjoy both the fritters with garlic-peanut chutney, mint chutney or any other chutney of your choice.