CRISPY POTATO FRITTERS/ CRISPY BATTATA WADA/ AALOO KE PAKODE

When I first arrived in Africa in 1980, we landed in the city of Nairobi. My husband and I stayed in a 3-star hotel for one week, in that hotel there was nothing to eat except meat for main meals, we did not even get plain rice. There was some sort of shortage of rice there, so they were giving rice only once a week. There we survived only on breakfasts because bread and butter were available at the breakfast table only.

We were very new in the city, we had no idea of the place. One morning we went to the city center and asked people about Indian restaurants etc, there we met some Indians. Later they helped us by bringing home-made vegetarian food for us to our hotel.

This was my first foreign tour and Kenya was the first country I visited in my life. Without knowledge of local ingredients, we were walking for the first time on the streets of Nairobi, I saw some pathway vendors selling onions and potatoes. That was a big relief for me. I thought, at least, something I will get here to eat!

Potato is a type of vegetable which is used in almost all world cuisines and is also available everywhere in the world. Even in a remote area of Africa or Asia potatoes can be easily available. In Indian cuisine, a variety of dishes is made with potatoes. I particularly like this significant character of potatoes that they can be mixed and matched with many other vegetables when making curries and side dishes. We, food bloggers and foodies will definitely need this type of vegetables with which we can play around and invent new things.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 4 big boiled potatoes
• 100 grams grated paneer(optional)
• 1 cup chickpeas flour(besan)
• salt and chili powder to taste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch soda-bi-carb
• oil for frying

METHOD

• Grate boiled potatoes and add salt pepper and grated paneer.
• Mix well and make small balls shape and keep it aside.
• Make a thick batter by adding water in chickpeas flour together with salt, pepper,cumin seeds and soda-bi-carb.
• Heat oil in a wok or frypan, when oil is hot, take potato balls one by one and dip in chickpeas batter and slip into the oil and fry lightly all the balls.
• Take balls out of the oil, when still warm flatten them with your palms using the kitchen towel.
• Fry again in the hot oil to make them crispy.
• Serve hot with any chutney of your taste.

Around 20-25 potato fritters can be made depending on the size you make.

I am sending this recipe as my blog post for the week with Full plate Thursday, and with Fiesta Friday, and with My two favorite things on Thursday, and Food and Fitness Friday., and with Wordless Wednesday, and with Meatless Monday and What'd you do this weekends, and with Hearth and soul blog hop and Tuesday Tutorials, and with TastyTuesday, and with Waywow linkup party  and Great Idea Thursday, and with Yum yum linky, and with Welcome home Wednesday party. and with From the archived friday