Crispy, Gram Flour Battered Cauliflower Fritters (Cauliflower Bajo)

Yummy, crispy, spicy cauliflower fritters make a perfect tea time snack! Here's an easy, real quick recipe for preparing amazing cauliflower fritters. Try them and I'm sure you'll fall in love with them!

They are called as cauliflower bajo in Konkani. You can also make delicious cauliflower fritters using a ground rice batter. 

Most Konkani homes have to have something crispy and crunchy, something deep fried to make a meal complete. It's either a vegetable that's deep fried or a papad or little fritters called oodi/vodi (sandige in Kannada). Konkani's love deep fried food! These cauliflower fritters are also served for lunch, dinner as a starter or as a side dish too. 

Ingredients:

1/2 a cauliflower 
3/4 cup gram flour
2 tablespoons of chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Preparation Method:

1. Prepping the cauliflower:

a. Break the large cauliflower floret down into smaller, bite-sized florets with your knife. The big ones can just be cut into quarters.

b. Add the cauliflower florets into hot water with salt and turmeric so that any worms present come off. Allow it to stand in hot water for 15-20 minutes.

c. Drain the water and give the florets a second wash. Wash them again with running water if required. 

Cauliflower and cabbage are sprayed with highest amount of insectides so wash them carefully.

d. Sieve them to drain excess water.

2. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, mix well gram flour, red chilli powder & salt.

3. Add the cauliflower florets into the flour in the mixing bowl.

4. Gently using a spoon move the florets around in the bowl so that they get coated uniformly with the flour.

Water content present in the cauliflower florets help in coating them with flour all around. 

5. Heat oil in a frying pan to deep fry the cauliflower florets.

6. Once the oil is rolling hot, add few flour coated cauliflower florets into them. Fry them on medium heat until they are golden brown and crisp.

Fry them on medium flame and do not let them brown. If you fry them on high heat the exterior gets crispy and starts to brown but the cauliflower remains raw on the inside.

7. Similarly finish frying all the cauliflower florets.

Serving Suggestions:

1. Serve hot cauliflower fritters as a tea time snack.  

2. Serve hot cauliflower fritters as a starter or as a side dish for lunch, dinner with rice & dalithoy.

P.S: These cauliflower fritters tend to lose their crispiness with time so enjoy them while they are hot and crispy.

Find more fritter (bajo, phodi) recipes here.

Tags: Indian, Quick Bites, Sides, Starters, Street Food, Vegetarian, cauliflower, fried food, bajo, fritters, teatime snack, side dish, crispy, crunchy, spicy, Konkani recipe, Konkani dish, Konkani cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalore food, Konkani food, cauliflower fritters, cauliflower bajo.