Gosale Bajo / Ridge Gourd Bajia.

“Gosale Bajo / Ridge Gourd Bajia” … Bajias or Bajo needs no intro’ for any Indian … These are delicious deep fried golden and crisp snacks that is served along with other dishes during lunch / dinner … This is mostly served during monsoon festive season as they are freely available in large quantities during that time … Yummy Yumz … 

** Bajo or Bajia’s are snacks that are prepared with Veggies that are dipped in batter and deep fried in hot oil. It’s absolutely not necessary for me to go into details about these yummy snacks that every Indian knows about and always relishes them in their homes. The satisfaction of hot deep fried golden colored bajia’s is something very satisfying specially during monsoon or winter or get together or when there is chill in the air. These hot deep fries are a great snack that can be served anytime of the day be it for breakfast, lunch, tiffin or dinner, but gosale bajo tastes best during lunch or dinner with other dishes served along. Today I have deep fried Gosale / Ridge gourd that is available in plenty in the market now as its in season. The recipe is simple, just like the other Bajo / Bajia's posted before in the Blog, so I will not run into details much and go about writing the recipe straight away. 

** Here is the simple Method of preparing “Gosale Bajo / Ridge Gourd Bajia” …. 

** Wash the Gosale / Ridge Gourd well and wipe them dry. Gently slice off the ridge portion on the skin of the Ridge gourd, while retaining the other part of the skin. You can check the picture posted for the same. Now slice them into rings of ¼ inch thickness and keep them ready aside. I have used about 12-15 slices of the same. 

** Note : Do not discard the sliced skin ridges. Keep them aside, you can roast them and prepare chutney and saar / saaru out of the same. I have already included the recipe for the same before, but will be including now with slight variation, by adding on Amla. Do check that recipe out. It is posted back to back with this recipe as I have used the ridges kept aside while preparing these bajos. 

** For the batter for deep frying : In a bowl add in 1 cup of besan (Bengal gram flour), 1 tblsp of spicy red chilly powder, 1 tblsp of hing water or ½ tsp of hing powder and salt to taste. Mix all gently. Add in enough water to bind into a thick paste. The paste should coat the back of a spoon thickly and not slip off easily. 

** For deep frying : Heat plenty of oil in a kadai for deep frying. Once it reaches smoking point, lower heat to medium and wait for about 5 minutes. Now dip in each pieces of the sliced Gosale / Ridge Gourd into the batter and swirl it so that it coats the slices evenly on all sides, gently leave it into the hot oil one by one. 

** Add in a few pieces at a time depending upon the size of the pan and the amount of oil heated. Do not overcrowd the pan or else there wont be enough space for the bajias to get cooked evenly. After about 3-4 minutes, keep stirring and flipping the bajo / bajia to let them cook evenly on all sides. 

** Once the Ridge Gourd bajo / bajia turns reddish golden brown in color remove from the oil with the help of a slotted / ringed spatula and place them on an absorbent paper and keep it for a while for the excess oil to drain off. Follow the same procedure for the remaining pieces of Gosale / Ridge Gourd. 

** Gosale / Ridge Gourd Bajo (bajias / Fries) are done and ready to be served. Always serve bajias hot with Rice and Dal / Saar or as a side dish along with any other dishes of your choice. I served them for lunch with many other dishes prepared out of Gosale itself. It was my green thali with all dishes belonging to Ridge Gourd as the main veggie. Do try out the various dishes along with this bajo and enjoy with your family and friends.