Green Olive Bajji & Green Tomato Bajji (Fritters)

          Bajjis or Fritters are a very popular snack item in India. They are basically any thinly sliced vegetable dipped in a spicy chickpea flour batter and fried. Sounds simple, right? But they are delicious. They should be eaten hot and fresh along with hot masala chai (spiced hot tea). This is one food that can be found both on the streets as well as in posh restaurants. There are different variations to bajjis but the one standard ingredient is chickpea flour.

          In Southern India some Bajjis are made with fruits instead of vegetables. The most common fruits are ripe Plantains and ripe Jackfruit. The batter used to dip fruit bajjis is usually made with plain flour.

          Here I’ve used two non- traditional ingredients to make bajjis. Olives and green tomatoes. Large green olives are great for bajji. Stuff them with cheese or still better use the garlic and jalapeno stuffed ones.

         Green tomato fritters are a popular appetizer. They are normally breaded and fried. One day I thought why not dip them in chickpea flour batter and fry them as bajjis. They turned out to be delicious.

Stuff the cheese into the olives

Make the batter

Dip olives in batter and drop in the oil

Fry the olives until all sides are browned

Dip the green tomato slice in the batter

Drop the tomato slice slowly into the oil and fry on both the sides

      Ingredients:

• Large Green Olives 12
• Large Green Tomato 1, sliced
• Besan (Chickpea flour) 1.5 cups
• Chili powder ½ teaspoon
• Chaat masala 1/4^th teaspoon
• Turmeric powder, a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying
• Water
• Small pieces of Mozzarella cheese

If the olives are stuffed with pimentos remove them and re-stuff them with cheese. If you prefer to keep the pimentos leave the cheese out.

Slice the green tomato into ¼” thick slices.

Now make the batter: Add the spices and salt to the chickpea flour. Add water to the flour a little at a time and mix well until you get a consistency that is little lighter than a pancake batter.

Heat enough oil in a pan on medium heat to deep fry the bajjis. Dip the olives in the batter and drop them slowly into the oil. Fry until they turn golden brown.
Next, dip each green tomato slice in the batter and again carefully drop them in the oil. Fry on both sides until they turn golden brown.
Serve them hot with ketchup.

For a video version of this recipe go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7sY4zdQ6oU