Swaadista

Made with ridge gourd or heerekayi (in Kannada), coated in a batter of chickpea and rice flour, and fried until crispy, this popular evening snack from Karnataka is one of our favorites to have with masala tea. It was a family favorite back home in India as well, especially during the rainy season. There is definitely something about rain and bajjis that go together. I am sure many of you reading this can relate.

This recipe is simple and requires few ingredients, ridge gourd being the star of the recipe. If you do not like ridge gourd, you can use thin slices of potatoes, onions, or raw banana in this recipe instead. How thick or thin the batter is depends on what you like. If the batter is thin and watery, the coating on the ridge gourd will be light and you will taste mostly the ridge gourd. If the batter is thick, you will taste mostly the batter. That is why I prefer a batter that is of medium consistency.

You can eat this yummy snack as a side dish with your meals or eat it as a snack with your favorite dipping sauce. Personally love dipping these in tomato ketchup!

Ingredients:

1 small ridge gourd, thinly sliced as shown
1/2 cup chickpea/gram flour
2 tbsp rice flour
1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder or as per taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water
chaat masala
salt to taste

Method:

Prep the ridge gourd and thinly slice it into as many rounds as you’d want.

Into a large mixing bowl, add the chickpea flour, rice flour, kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and salt, and mix well. Then add water in small amounts and mix until a lump-free, medium-consistency batter forms. Adjust the taste for salt and spices as needed.

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.

Dip each round of ridge gourd in the batter and deep-fry them until golden brown. You can place them directly on a paper towel if you’d like to remove excess oil.

Plate them and sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala on top. Serve them hot with tea or a dipping sauce or both. Enjoy!

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