Dill Pakoras (Shepu chya Bhajya/ Shepu Bajo)

I have to confess - I like deep fried food and as guilty as charged. Few weeks ago I was craving for these and had to make them soon. I really miss the roadside Angadis in India where the vendor packs all assorted fried foods in newspaper and hands them over to you for a small sum. This recipe was sitting in my draft collection hence thought of feeding my hungry blog. 

Many years ago, my Mom made this for me during a super rainy day when I was a teenager. She wanted to convince me that Dill is edible. I had earlier refused to eat a vegetable side dish made out of Dill leaves. I told her she cannot make me budge with a wispy hint that I may like it, since it was deep fried. The deep, herb like smell put me off completely and today decades later I find it very fragrant and soothing. Strange how everything keeps changing in life.

Dill Pakoras are not made in many homes yet are super delicious, soft and spongy. Dill is known as Shepu in Marathi, Sapsige Soppu in Kannada and Shepu chi Bhaaji in Kokani. The Pakoras cook super fast so guard and watch them till finish. The flip side is it absorbs lot of oil, so have your kitchen  towel handy. Adding Baking soda is optional, however it adds crispness to the texture.

~ Dill Pakoras ~

Preparation time - 25 minutes

Cooking time - 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Dill leaves (washed, dried and finely chopped) - 1 and 1/2 cup

Onions (finely chopped) - 3/4 cup

Oil for frying

For the Batter -

Chickpea flour ~ Besan - 1 cup

All Purpose Flour - 3/4  cup

Green Chillies (finely chopped) - 1 tsp.

Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp

Rice Rava - 2 tbsp.

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 2 pinches

Salt

Baking soda (optional) - a pinch

For Garnish -

Chaat Masala - 1/2 tsp.

Method:

Wash and clean the leaves. Remove the stem and pat dry the leaves and chop them finely. In a mixing bowl, make a stiff batter of Chickpea flour, APF and Rice Rava. Add salt, ginger paste, turmeric powder, green chillies and red chilli powder. The batter should be very thick and not runny, like any Pakora batter but more stiffer and thicker. Mix in chopped Dill and Onions. Set aside for 15 minutes. 

Heat oil and once the oil is hot enough, scoop a morsel by hand and pour in oil. Deep fry in batches of two or three. They fry very quickly so once they turn reddish brown, scoop them out of oil with a large slotted spoon and transfer to an absorbent kitchen towel. Serve with Tomato Ketchup or any sweet chutney like Plum/ Mango/ Cranberry Chutney.

Note - The oil should NOT be smoking hot. The temperature of oil can affect the frying process.