YAM BONDA
A TASTY DEEP FRIED SNACK
Ingredients
for the stuffing:
1) Yam – 1 kg.
2) Hot green
chilies – 3 Nos.
3) Tender
ginger – ½ inch piece
4) Tender
curry leaves – 3 sprigs
5) Onion – 150
gm.
6) Urad dal
(split black gram lentils) – 1 teaspoon
7) Mustard
seeds – ½ teaspoon
8) Coconut oil
– 1½ tablespoons
9) Salt – 1½
teaspoons
Ingredients
for the tempura/jacket:
1) Chickpea
flour – 500 gm.
2) Hot red
chili powder – 1 teaspoon
3) Turmeric
powder - ½ teaspoon
4) Asafoetida
powder – ¼ teaspoon
5) Salt – 1
teaspoon
6) Coconut oil
or other cooking oil – to deep fry
To prepare
the stuffing:
Peel the yam and cut into big chunks. Soak in a solution of 2
litres of water with 20 ml. of vinegar for 10 minutes. This will help get rid
of all the dirt and most of the slime. Wash in 2 or 3 changes of clear water.
Drain and transfer to a pressure cooker. Pour in enough water to immerse the
chunks. Tip in a teaspoon of salt. Close the lid and set on high heat.
As soon as you hear the first whistle, turn down the heat and
cook for 4 minutes. Switch off the heat and let cool naturally. Meanwhile,
discard the stems of the hot green chilies and chop to super fine pieces. Peel
the ginger and the onion and chop likewise. Pluck the curry leaves from their
sprigs and set aside.
By this time, the cooker should be cool enough to open. Drain
off the stock (water) and mash the yam chunks thoroughly. Set a thick wok on
high heat. Pour in the coconut oil and throw in the mustard seeds. As soon as
the mustard seeds are about to finish spluttering, throw in the urad dal. Stir
till the urad dal turns light brown.
Now tip in the chopped green chilies, the ginger, the onion,
the curry leaves and the remaining half teaspoon of salt. Lower the heat and
stir nicely for 3 minutes. Put in the mashed yam and mix thoroughly. Taste and
add more salt if required. Stir and switch off the heat. Let the mixture cool
down a bit. As soon as it is cool enough to touch, make lemon sized balls and
set aside.
To make the batter:
Put the chickpea flour, the red chili powder, the turmeric
powder, the salt (1 teaspoon) and the asafoetida powder into a food processor.
Add a little water and blend to a thick batter of a consistency slightly
thicker than pancake batter. Transfer it to a bowl.
To Fry:
Set a wok with oil to deep fry on high heat. As soon as the
oil is hot and about to smoke (you should
not allow it to smoke since such overheated oil is not good for health),
dip each yam ball in the batter and roll it around to coat it fully. Release
gently into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the wok but leave a little space to
turn the balls in order to fry them evenly on all sides.
Turn and fry till their jackets are crispy and golden orange
in colour. Lift out and drain off the excess oil. Serve warm with coffee or
with tea.
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