Lady's Finger/ Okra Fritters (Benda Bajo)

Lady's Finger/ Okra Fritters (Benda Bajo)

You know what my granny did when she had some mature, hard lady's fingers that she couldn't be use in anything? She didn't toss them into the bin like many would. She turned them into delicioussss, spicy, crrrispyyyy, crrrrunchyyy lady's fingers fritters. They would be perfect starters/side dishes for lunch or would be great for evening tea time snacks. They're also so easy & so quick to make. Next time you buy okra & have some hard mature ones with which you can't cook anything give this recipe a try. 

Mature okra are also perfect to make these fritters you know why? 

1. Tender lady's finger become slimy easily. Mature ones don't. If tender lady's finger are used to make these fritters the batter gets all sticky & slimy. 

2. Also, mature lady's finger that are chewy and fibrous get crispy and crunchy on deep frying. That makes these fritters even more better.

These lady's finger fritters are called benda bajo in Konkani. My mom makes the best benda bajos. Here's her recipe below.

Watch a detailed video for it's making:

 

Ingredients:

  • 10-12 mature lady's fingers
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
  • 2-3 green chillies
  • 1/2 inch ginger
  • 1-2 leaflets of curry leaves
  • 1/2 cup gram flour
  • 1/4 rice flour 
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • A pinch of asafoetida(optional)
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Preparation Method:

1. Wash well lady's finger, cloth dry them well (so that it doesn't give out its slime).

2. Chop lady's finger once they are completely dry. Chop them such that the pieces are not very tiny nor too big. We usually slit lady's fingers vertically into 2 pieces. Then chop them into 4 pieces horizontally lesser than 1/2 a centimeter in length.  

3. Smash together finely chopped green chillies, ginger, curry leaves & salt.

4. Add in chopped onions + chopped lady's finger & mix well. Give them 2 minutes to rest. They give out water in the mean time on adding salt that would help in binding.

5. In another bowl, mix gram flour, rice flour, salt, red chili powder & asafoetida powder.

6. Add the flour mix to the lady's fingers mixture & mix well.

7. Give them another 2 minutes. The moisture content present binds them together. It also tells you if you need to add water.

8. Add 3 tablespoons of hot oil & mix well. 

9. We want a nice sticky mixture sticking together, holding everything together. 

10. If there's not enough binding sprinkle littleeee water on top & mix them well. 

11. Deep fry them in oil on medium heat until they're golden brown. 

12. Enjoy them hot while they're all crispy & crunchy. 

13. They get little soft with time so empty them within 4-5 hours. 

My granny does these too while deep frying them: Dip your hand in water and take small lumps of the mixture in hand and drop them into the hot oil. You can even dip two spoons in hot oil and make quenelles and drop them in hot oil.

Find more fritter (bajo, phodi) recipes here.

Tags: Lady's finger, Okra, Fritters, Bajo, Bhindi, Bhende, side dish, tea time snacks, Konkani recipe, Konkani dish, Konkani cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalore food, Konkani food.

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