Vazhakkai Bajji / Raw Banana Bhajji / Bajji Recipes

         Here it comes a most popular South Indian snack - Bajji / Bhajji. Bajji is a hot, crispy evening tea time snack. It is a dish prepared by dipping sliced raw banana in gram dal -rice flour batter and finally deep frying it in a hot oil. You can make bajji with any vegetables like potato, onion and eggplant . Best accompaniment for this bajji are coconut chutney or peanut chutney and tea.


       Ingredients

          1 Big Vazhakkai / Raw Banana
          3/4 Cup of Gram (Besan) Flour
          1/4 Cup of Rice Flour
          1 Tsp of Corn Flour
          1/4 Tsp of Baking Soda
          A Pinch of Asafoetida
          1.5 Tsp of Red Chilly Powder
          1 Tsp of Salt
          Water as needed , about 2/3 cup of water
          Oil for Frying

    Method

• Wash and peel the skin of raw banana/ vazhakkai.
• Slice them lengthwise into long and thin slices.
• In a bowl, add besan flour, rice flour, corn flour, asafoetida, red chilly powder, baking soda, salt and add water little by little to get batter. Batter should not be too thick or too thin.
• In the meantime, heat oil in a shallow pan for deep frying.
• When oil gets hot (323 degree F), dip the banana slices in the batter and make sure it is coated well on both sides.
• Carefully drop the slices one by one into the oil, cook them until it turns golden brown color on both sides.
• Transfer them to a paper towel(Tissue paper) lined container to absorb oil.
• Serve immediately with tea and coconut chutney or peanut chutney. 

     Tips

• Addition of asafoetida is for digestion.
• You can add pinch of orange food color, to get colorful bajji.
• Adjust the amount of red chilly powder and salt accoeding to your taste.
• Always cook in a medium high flame.

    Health Benefits of Vazhakkai / Raw Banana

• Good source of resistant starch, a type of starch that cannot be broken down by enzymes in our digestive system, acts like fiber than starch, good for diabetes. 
• High in potassium and vitamin B6.
• High in fiber content.