Bonda with coconut chutney

Bonda, a typical South Indian snack, is spicy potato filling dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried in oil. On a lighter note, the term bonda is also used to refer to someone with a chubby physique - (although I would not use it on a Tamilian you do not know that well :) )!!! Coming back to the topic on hand, bonda in Tamil Nadu is usually made of potatoes. Kannadigas make a different version - the Mysore bonda- which mainly consists of gram flour balls deep fried in oil. In Madras, bondas are commonly served for 'tiffin' with coconut chutney and sambhar on the side. In Mahrashtra, the potato bonda is known as the batata wada and is served like a sandwich with bread and some spicy chutneys.



To satisfy our spicy-fried-starch craving we decided to make it last night. (Ahhh! who is going to look like a bonda now?, I can hear you smirk!)

For the filling:
I boiled 4-5 large potatoes in my pressure cooker. I peeled the boiled potatoes and mashed them, letting some chunks remain. Next, I took 2 -3 tbsp of oil in a kadai (wok). When the oil was hot, I added some mustard seeds (2 tsp). I let the mustard seeds splutter and then added 2 -3 tsp of urad dal. Urad dal can burn quickly, so be careful there. In went some some finely chopped green chillies and 1 finely cut onion. I sauted till onions were transparent and then added the mashed boiled potatoes. I seasoned the potato filling with salt, turmeric powder and some grated ginger and let it cook for 5 - 10 mins. If necessary you could add some water so the filling does not crumble. I made small ping pong sized balls with the potato mixture.

For the batter:
I mixed 2 cups of besan/kadalai maavu/gram flour, 1/2 cup of maida/all purpose flour and a pinch of salt with water. Add water little by little so the batter remains sufficiently thick to coat the potato balls (almost like umm... maybe custard conistency).

Making the bondas:
Heat some oil in a shallow thick bottomed vessel. The oil shoud be able to cover atleast half of each bonda. Once the oil is hot enough, coat the potato balls with the batter and deep fry (in batches)till a golden crust forms.

For coconut chutney:
I ground together a handful of freshly grated coconut, 2 green chillies, few peanuts and some fresh cilantro with salt, in a blender with little water. Took 1 tbsp of oil for the tadka. When the oil was hot, I let some mustard seeds splutter and added the tadka to the chutney.

Serve the bondas with chutney. Bondas can also make great appetizers.