Surraikai Bajji | Dudhi Bhajiya | Bottlegourd Fritters

         

          Bajji / fritters are everyone’s favorite on rainy days.  We make bajji when a guest came or family get together. We love to have bajjis , when we want to munch on something spicy. Today , I am going to share a bajji recipe……

         Bottlegourd  is known as surraikai in tamil , Lauki / dudhi in Hindi . Bottlegourd is a common vegetable in our home. My mom makes delicious curry with cowpeas .

Check my other recipes with  Lauki :

Surraikai thataipayaru kulambu

Lauki halwa


                   

         we can make delicious bajji with this commonly available vegetable. When I saw this recipe on some blogs , I  immediately decided to give it a try. I made this for a evening snack and it was a huge hit.

         I used  long bottlegourd instead of usual  bottle shaped one. I used along with the skin , if you don’t want to use with skin peel off before slicing.

Ingredients:
Bottlegourd slices  -  2o piece
Oil - For Deep Frying

For Batter
Chickpeas Flour/Besan -  3 Cup

Rice flour – ¼ cup

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To Taste 
Cooking Soda-bi-Carb - 1/4 tsp ( optional )
Water as needed

Method:

wash and cut bottle gourd in to thin roundels.
In a bowl  add the flours , salt , crushed cumin seeds , asafoetida   , chilli powder and mix well.

Add water to the mixture  and mix well without forming any lumps to make thick batter. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat   oil in a wok , dip each bottlegourd slice in the batter and drop in hot oil and fry until golden brown both sides in medium-slow flame. Repeat same for rest of pieces. 



 
Bottlegourd fritters are ready to serve. 
Serve with hot cup of tea.

Chef’s Suggestions :

Add  little of cilantro (coriander leaves) to bring more flavor as bottle gourd by itself is plain in taste.  

If using the bottle shaped one use  bottom side of it which was quite large  and gets large fritters.

Make sure to slice thin pieces otherwise it won't get cooked .