Brinjal Pakoda | Eggplant Fritters

I am currently in a phase of eggplant madness. I want eggplants on everything. I am dressing them in myriad ways and I am liking every one of them. The latest in the line is the eggplant fritter/Brinjal pakoda that I made a couple of days back. Brinjals/eggplants are so versatile; cut them into chunky quarters for a traditional brinjal curry or a spicy brinjal chops, or roast thinly sliced pieces for stylish toppings on pizzas or croutons (Roasted Eggplant topped crouton).

The small purple variety of brinjals work best for this pakoda. But I am sure you can try it with other varieties as well. Make sure to slice really thin. This way the brinjal cooks faster, is crispier and tastier. I served this brinjal pakoda as a side with rice and dal. But these could very easily be prettied up as a party appetizer. Serve these hot along with a sour cream dip and you have a tasty new party appetizer. I am sending these off to Srivalli’s Blogging Marathon #33 for the theme “Kids Delight” and to Srivalli’s Kids Delight Potluck party.

Prep time: 10 mins + 30 mins resting time
Cooking time: 7 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Small Purple Brinjal/Eggplants – ½ kilo thinly sliced
Gram flour/Besan/Chickpea Flour – ¾ cup
Rice flour – 3 tbsp
Curry leaves – 2 stems
Oil – 3 tbsp + more for frying
Ghee – 4 tbsp heated
Red chilli powder – 2 tbsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Salt to taste

Method

1.      In a medium bowl, combine gram flour, rice flour, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Set aside.

2.      Slice brinjal/eggplants really fine and throw them into the flour mixture. Add the curry leaves. Toss well to coat. Add oil and combine gently so that the flour mixture coats the sliced eggplants but not completely. Add the warmed ghee as well and combine till the flour mixture and eggplants are combined. Set aside for half an hour for the flavour to blend.

3.      Heat a skillet. Add oil for deep frying. When hot, drop tablespoon sized mounds of the eggplant mixture into the oil. Alternately you could drop individual pieces as well. Fry on medium high till golden brown. Remove onto absorbent paper. Serve hot.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33