Cripsy Nachani Cabbage ~ Onion Bhajia (Fritters).

“Cripsy Nachani Cabbage ~ Onion Bhajia / Fritters / Kurkuri” … This bhajia / bajia is our very own cabbage ~ onions bhajia / bajo but with the addition of nachani flour … Nachani / Finger Millet is considered good for health as its loaded with calcium … Don’t go by the dark colour … This is really a crispy delicacy, an excellent starter or side dish that tastes simply awesome … Yummy Yumz … 

Bhajias is one of the most loved snack all round India. Nobody can resist this crispy-fried item especially during winter and rainy seasons. I have already posted many combinations of bajias. I had nachani flour that I wanted to finish off before buying new stock, so just went and added them in preparation of bajias as nachani flour is something I use a lot in our diet as its full of calcium and as we age we need that added benefits of the same via food. It’s always good to consume food that have plenty of calcium and other vitamin contents in them like yogurt or curd that has so much of goodness in it. Do prepare this bajia and serve your family and friends as a surprise starter or side dish. Also, Please do check under the label Bajo for the recipes of similar dishes.

Ingredients :

Onions : 3 medium sized.

Cabbage : 150 gms.

Coriander Seeds : 2 tblsp

Hing / Asafoetida Powder : 1 tsp

Red Chilly Powder : 2 heaped tblsp

Besan / Chana dal flour : 1 heaped tblsp

Nachani Flour / Finger Millet Flour : approximately 1 to 1.5 cups

Oil : 1 tblsp

Salt to taste. 

Water as needed

Oil for deep frying the bajias.

** Slice off the edges of onions and peel off the outer skin. Slice the onions lengthwise. Put them on a plate and separate them with hands so that they are separate lengthwise strips. 

** Slice and cut the cabbage also into strips of almost the same size as that of onions. Put them in a colander and rinse under running water. Keep it aside for the water to get drained off properly. 

** Put the sliced onions and the cabbage in a wide bowl. Toss them both together well to mix them well. Now add in besan / gram flour, ¼ th amount of the nachani flour, hing powder, red chilly powder, coriander seeds and salt to taste. Now add in 1 tblsp of hot oil and Mix all together loosely. 

** Now add in half a cup of water and mix all the ingredients together. Keep sprinkling water and mixing the ingredients till you get a well coated onions – cabbage mixture. Do not add water in one go, just keep adding little by little. The texture should be thick and the paste should not be runny. The paste should just about coat the ingredients thickly, That’s all. 

** This is not a dipping in batter sort of bajo / bajia. But to get them crispy the texture should be thick and sticky. If necessary sprinkle some more nachani flour that was kept aside earlier and mix well together. You may add in any other spice of your choice too. You can also add in either ground garlic or garlic powder, it gives an awesome garlic flavour. 

** Heat plenty of oil in a thick bottomed kadai for deep frying. When the oil reaches smoking point lower the heat to medium and wait for a 2-3 mins before you add on the prepared mixture. Take a handful of the mixture and drop it into the oil carefully, seeing to it that as you drop a few at a time separately into small bunches. 

** Do not add it in larger bunches in one go, else the will all get clubbed together and you will not get separate bajias and also they will not get cooked from within. Do not overcrowd the kadai too. Be careful as the oil is hot. Keep distance when you do this. Raise the heat to high and let the mixture get cooked undisturbed till you see them shrinking a little bit. Gently with the help of a ringed spatula flip them over to fry them on the other side to. After a few minutes keep stirring them often to evenly fry them. This will take some time as kurkuri / crispies take more time to get fried than bajias. 

** When they are crispy and evenly browned, strain through the ringed spatula, remove and put them on an absorbent paper for excess oil to drain off. Repeat with the remaining mixture in similar procedure till all the mixture has been taken care off. You can also keep it in air tight container in fridge and fry fresh and hot as and when needed. Remains good for 2 days.

** Serve them hot with Dal-Chawal or as a snack or starter. Tastes very yummy and crispy / kurkuri. You can increase or decrease the level of spiciness as per your taste. Enjoy this “Cripsy Nachani Cabbage ~ Onion Bhajia / Fritters / Kurkuri” with family and friends. You are sure to have demand for more.