By Faith Mudoga,
Bhajia is a common Kenyan street food that is made out of potatoes. If you love vegetable bhajias also known as Pakora, you don’t have to go out of the comfort of your home to get them.
This exciting variation adds a little bit of kick by infusing a blend of vegetables to the ensemble to make it more crispy, bringing out a savoury taste and giving this popular snack an edge.
Here is a simple and easy recipe for you to make your own crispy vegetable bhajias at home or even for your business.
Duration
Preparation time — 15 minutes
Cooking time — about 10 minutes per batch
Ingredients to make the Potato Bhajias
- Three medium potatoes chopped in thin round slices
- Grated mangoes
- Desiccated coconut
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon Paprika powder
- All-purpose Flour about — ¼ cup
- Sim sim seeds — 1 tsp
- Chili flakes — 1 tsp
- Bell Peppers
- One large Onions
- 3 Grated carrots
- Oil to fry the bhajias
- Water as sufficiently needed
Recipe Courtesy of My Menu
Preparation
1. Wash your potatoes and chop them into thin round slices. Keep them immersed in a bowl of water.
2. Crate one mango and add in a medium sized bowl. In the same bowl add ½ desiccated coconut, add 1 tsp salt and paprika powder and mix them together. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and leave for about 5 minutes.
3. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sieve your flour into a clean bowl. To the flour, add 1 tablespoon of sim sim seeds, add chopped chilli flakes, chop one bell peppers into small pieces and add (either red or green), add one large chopped onions and 3 crated carrots.
4. Using a whisk, mix them together and add some water. Use your hands to make the mixture thick. Make sure you achieve a thick pancake consistency.
5. Rinse the sliced potatoes, blot them dry completely between kitchen cloth or paper towels. It is critical that the slices be completely dry, as damp slices will dilute the batter.
6. Dip the sliced potatoes into the batter. Remove one potato slice at a time and shake off any excess batter. Drop the slices carefully into the heated oil one at a time. Fry them until they’re golden brown.
7. Serve the bhajias warm with mango chutney.
