Among the many deep-fried Indian street foods, we have to admit that we have a certain bias for bonda. Bonda is a round, deep-fried snack. It is usually savoury, but there are sweeter versions of the snack too. The most common form of bonda is the Aloo Bonda. In this, spicy mashed potatoes are coated in a besan batter and then fried in oil.
Bonda is said to be a native of Karnataka. In fact, a recipe of bonda - known as ‘parika’ - can also be found in Manasollasa, a 12th Century Sanskrit encyclopaedia compiled by Someshvara III.
Bonda also has a Maharashtrian cousin in Batata Vada, while Goli Baje, Mangalore bonda, or Mangalore Bajji is another variant from Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, bonda is made using black gram (ulundu) batter. Over the years, bonda has seen many variations, with the regular potato filling getting replaced by sweet potato, tapioca, grated pineapple, green peas, eggs, and paneer.
Since nothing spells festive quite as deep-fried delicacies, celebrity Chef Kunal Kapoor shares his favourite Paneer Bonda recipe with us. For Chef Kunal, the choice of oil is very important. He advises only good quality oil, so that the festive season is a happy one for everyone. Without further ado, here’s the recipe you had been waiting for.
Ingredients:
- 80 gms grated paneer
- 4 boiled potatoes
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1-inch ginger
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 chopped green chillies
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 3 tbsps coriander
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ cup water
- 3 tbsps (45ml) cooking oil
- 1 cup gram flour
- 2 tsps cumin powder
- 2 tsps red chilli powder
- Salt, as per taste
Method:
- Combine gram flour, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, and salt in a wide mouth bowl.
- Add some water gradually and keep a smooth thick consistency, whisk it well and keep aside.
- Heat half tbsp cooking oil in a frying pan, add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
- Stir in the onions and saute until they are soft and light golden in colour.
- Add ginger, green chillies, asafetida, turmeric, and salt, and saute it for a minute.
- Allow the potato mixture to cool down, stir in the coriander leaves and divide it into 8 portions.
- Shape them into round balls and keep aside.
- Then, preheat the pan and add a few drops of oil into each cavity.
- Dip and coat each of the potato balls in the gram flour batter and gradually let it into the cavity.
- Cover the pan and allow the bonda to cook for a couple of minutes until it turns golden brown.
- Once it is cooked, uncover, flip the bondas to cook on the other side and then remove it from the pan.
- Serve it hot along with a chutney of your choice.