Mullangi Pallo- Piyava Bajo (Radish Leaves- Onion Fritters/ Bajia).

“Mullangi Pallo- Piyava Bajo (Radish Leaves- Onion Fritters/ Bajia)” … radish leaves (mooli ke patte) have loads of protien, calcium and other nutrients in them and should never be discarded … while tender leaves taste best in bhaaji, slightly overgrown ones can be used in preparation of bajo’s etc. … try these delicious crisp fried fritters that tastes best served during meals … Yummilicious …

** Bajo’s/ fritters are the most loved deep fried snack and in my home it is no different. Both hubby and I love them be it served for meals/ snack and though I try my level best to curtail it for health reasons I always end up preparing a few.

** Radish leaves are extremely beneficial to health and if you are chucking them out then think again before doing so. I add them while preparing chutney, dal, bhaji, roti, salad, vadas/ dangar bajo’s/ fritters etc; the list is endless.

** I am sure you know its health benefits if not do google it, there is plenty of info there. I prepared these fritters/ bajo’s with addition of onions and spices along with flours and they turned out crisp and delicious.

** Here is my simple method of preparing “Mullangi Pallo- Piyava Bajo (Radish Leaves- Onion Fritters/ Bajia)” … My Style …

** Pick, clean and finely chop about 2 cups of fresh mullangi/ radish/ mooli leaves. You can use tender stem portion if desired too, I have added them. Add the cut leaves into a stainless steel fine sieve and rinse well under running water. Keep it aside for the excess water to drain off completely. Peel off the outer skin and finely chop two medium sized onions/ piyavu/ kanda and keep it ready aside.

** In a wide stainless steel bowl add in 1 cup of besan (chane peeta/ bengal gram flour), 1- 1.5 tblsp of red chilly powder (mirsnge pitti/ mirchi tikkat), 2-3 tblsp of rice flour (tandla pitti/ chawal ka atta), ½- 1tsp of hing (asafoetida) powder, pinch of haldi/ turmeric powder, salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, pinch of amchoor (dried raw mango) powder, 1 tsp ajwain (vonvo) crushed between palms and mix well.

** To the above ingredients add in the drained radish leaves, finely chopped onions and mix well adding water little by little as required to bring to a thick binding consistency. Do not add water in one go, lest it turns out into a runny mixture, it has to have a dropping consistency. Cover and keep this aside for about 15-20 minutes to soften the flours or if to be fried in an hour or two them keep it refrigerated.

** Before deep frying, mix the mixture once again properly and if too dry add in little bit of water and if slightly softer textured then add a few tsp of besan and mix the same. You should be able to make a rolling smooth soft ball with the batter with one hand on the rim of the bowl for the right consistency (check picture collage shared).

** Heat plenty of oil in a thick bottomed kadai/ deep frying pan and when it comes to smoking hot, reduce the flame to medium and wait for 5 mins. To check the right temperature of oil, take a small ball/ pinch of the batter and gently drop in the oil, if it burns and comes up immediately it means you need to wait a few more minutes for the oil to cool and if it sizzles for a few seconds and then comes up round and nice then the oil is of correct temperature for frying. You will learn this with experience.

** Note : Keep the temperature even throughout deep frying of the baje/ bajo’s/ fritters by increasing the heat or lowering the heat as and when needed.

** Now make small lemon sized balls of the batter making it into round shape with the help of your fingers and running the batter/ mixture on the rim of the bowl and gently add it into the hot oil. Be careful not to drop it with force or the hot oil may splutter, so be careful. Continue adding a few bajo’s/ fritters as required.

** Fry about 6-8 bajo’s at a time (the no. of balls depends upon the size of the kadai). Let the bajo’s/ fritters fry for a few minutes as it in medium heat oil, then stir them gently with a ringed spatula and flip them over to cook evenly all over. Do not hurry or raise the heat to cook them fast as then the center part will remain uncooked.

** When they become evenly browned and crispy, remove with the holed/ ringed spatula and place them on an absorbent paper for the excess oil to drain off. Now continue preparing the required number of bajo’s/ fritters with the remaining dough following the same method and fry them in batches until all are done.

** Note : In case of excess batter or if you want to fry some at later time then put them in an air tight box and immediately put in fridge, remains good for 24 hours. Just remove from fridge and let rest for 10-15 minutes before frying them.

** “Mullangi Pallo- Piyava Bajo (Radish Leaves- Onion Fritters/ Bajia)” are done and ready to be served. You can serve them during meals along with other dishes or as a snack with some chutney or tomato ketchup too. We from GSB Konkani Saraswat always prefer to serve these bajo’s/ bajia’s/ fritters during meals as they taste best served with dal- chawal along with other dishes, I served it the same way which you can check out on the following post in the blog. Do try it and enjoy with family and friends.