Mangalore bajji

A curd batter mixed stiff enough to be the ball itself, with no filling in it.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (curd).

Ingredients

• 250 g maida, plain white flour
• 60 g gram flour
• 40 g rice flour
• 250 ml thick curd, slightly sour
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 40 g fresh coconut, chopped small
• 3 green chillies, chopped
• a 3 cm piece of ginger, grated
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 20 curry leaves, torn
• a handful of coriander leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• coconut oil for deep frying

Method

1. THE BATTER IS MIXED STIFF ENOUGH TO BE THE BALL ITSELF, WITH NO FILLING IN IT, which is what separates this from a bonda made in the same pan. Its article is specific about the consistency and the shaping: the ingredients ARE THOROUGHLY MIXED TO FORM A HARD BATTER, THEN SHAPED INTO A SMALL BALL AND DEEP-FRIED, PREFERABLY IN COCONUT OIL. A bonda's batter is a coat round something; this one is the whole snack.
2. AND IT IS MADE WITH CURD, WHICH NOTHING ELSE HERE IS. Its article's ingredient list begins MAIDA, CURD, GRAM FLOUR, RICE FLOUR -- curd second, before either of the other flours. The acid and the water in it are what make the inside hollow and spongy rather than dense.
3. SOUR CURD WORKS BETTER THAN FRESH, AND IT NEEDS TIME. Mix the flours into the curd with no water at all, cover it, and leave it two hours or overnight in a cool place. It slackens and lifts as it stands. That rest is the difference between a light one and a bullet.
4. EVERYTHING ELSE IN ITS ARTICLE'S LIST IS CHOPPED AND FOLDED IN AT THE END. CHOPPED ONION, CORIANDER LEAVES, COCONUT, JEERA, GREEN CHILLIES, CURRY LEAVES, AND SALT. Chop the coconut rather than grating it: the small firm pieces are a texture people look for.
5. THE SODA GOES IN LAST, JUST BEFORE FRYING. Mixed in early it is spent by the time the batter reaches the oil.
6. ADD NO WATER EVEN IF IT LOOKS TOO THICK. The onion and the curd let go of enough as it stands. A batter you can pour will spread into flat lace instead of a ball.
7. DROP ROUGH BALLS OFF YOUR FINGERS INTO MEDIUM-HOT COCONUT OIL. Wet your hand first. They sink, then rise and swell. Six or seven minutes, turning, until deep gold -- long enough that the inside is cooked, because a hard batter takes time.
8. SERVED WARM WITH COCONUT CHUTNEY, which its article gives twice: OFTEN SERVED WITH CHUTNEY, and USUALLY SERVED WARM WITH COCONUT CHUTNEY.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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