Lonkar Chop / Chili Fritters
Yesterday night when we went to sleep, it started raining heavily. Our glass windows became stained with the sudden gust of fierce raindrops and not willingly my husband got up and closed all the windows in our drawing room. We slept deeply throughout the night, as the sudden rainfall blessed us with a moist and cold air. I cuddled under the blanket by curling my hands and legs, just like my cats, absorbing the cold and warmth, and slowly sank into a deep sleep.
In the morning, it was still raining and I remembered my school days, when on days like this, I prayed so much to the god, to make that day a rainy day!!! But, alas!!! It was never granted. Looking through the window, I saw a woman getting out of a car with her rainbow colored umbrella. Amidst, all the greys, blues and blacks, this particular umbrella gave an instant freshness to the damp and dulled street for a moment. Then she crossed the road and went inside her office. My cats are very poetic and I often catch them observing the rain very aptly. Tip toed, I got my camera and immediately clicked some photos of my cats today. Aroused by the sound of my camera, my cat looked at me, raised his tail, gave some sudden soft swish motions with them, and marched off the room. Being alone again, I opened my tab and started reading the book I started last night. It was about Chinese cooking and the author gave an intricate detail about the history of the traditional Chinese cuisine and cooking method. I drank a big glass of water and became engrossed in it soon.
Since rainy days are almost incomplete without a hot cup of coffee and some chop / pakora /fritters, I made lonkar chop / chili fritters in the evening. In Kolkata, Ma scarcely made fritters in home as they were abundantly available there. Some were good and some not that much...but each had their own specialty, as some had a very fluffy coating while some had a rustic and crunchy coating, and even the maslas for stuffing also differed. So we ate almost from every shop around our home depending on our mood and taste.I personally love the texture, which is fluffy and as well as a little crunchy and the stuffing should be really spicy. So I have added a little rice flour and semolina in the batter and lots of chilies for the stuffing. For making Chili Fritters, always use the big chilies which are always milder and sweeter in taste. The sweetness when matches with the spicy stuffing, creates a blast inside the mouth. And if you can pair the fritters with some sweet tamarind chutney....I am sure you alone can finish up an entire basket of chili fritters / lonkar chop.
Lonkar chop / Chili Fritters
Ingredients:
In the morning, it was still raining and I remembered my school days, when on days like this, I prayed so much to the god, to make that day a rainy day!!! But, alas!!! It was never granted. Looking through the window, I saw a woman getting out of a car with her rainbow colored umbrella. Amidst, all the greys, blues and blacks, this particular umbrella gave an instant freshness to the damp and dulled street for a moment. Then she crossed the road and went inside her office. My cats are very poetic and I often catch them observing the rain very aptly. Tip toed, I got my camera and immediately clicked some photos of my cats today. Aroused by the sound of my camera, my cat looked at me, raised his tail, gave some sudden soft swish motions with them, and marched off the room. Being alone again, I opened my tab and started reading the book I started last night. It was about Chinese cooking and the author gave an intricate detail about the history of the traditional Chinese cuisine and cooking method. I drank a big glass of water and became engrossed in it soon.
Since rainy days are almost incomplete without a hot cup of coffee and some chop / pakora /fritters, I made lonkar chop / chili fritters in the evening. In Kolkata, Ma scarcely made fritters in home as they were abundantly available there. Some were good and some not that much...but each had their own specialty, as some had a very fluffy coating while some had a rustic and crunchy coating, and even the maslas for stuffing also differed. So we ate almost from every shop around our home depending on our mood and taste.I personally love the texture, which is fluffy and as well as a little crunchy and the stuffing should be really spicy. So I have added a little rice flour and semolina in the batter and lots of chilies for the stuffing. For making Chili Fritters, always use the big chilies which are always milder and sweeter in taste. The sweetness when matches with the spicy stuffing, creates a blast inside the mouth. And if you can pair the fritters with some sweet tamarind chutney....I am sure you alone can finish up an entire basket of chili fritters / lonkar chop.
Lonkar chop / Chili Fritters
Ingredients:
- 10-12 big red / green chilies
- 1 medium potato - boiled and soft from inside
- 2-3 green chilies - finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tbsp bhaja mosla / roasted spices (Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns and dry red chilies. Then Grind them to a fine powder.)
- 1 tsp oil
- a handful of fresh coriander leaves - finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 cup besan
- 2 tsp rice flour
- 2 tsp semolina
- 1 tsp carom seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp baking soda
- oil to deep fry
- salt
Method:
- Slit the green chilies from side and take out the seeds. If you like to make the fritters / chop more spicy then you can leave them as it is
- Now in a bowl mash the boiled potato and mix with it the bhaja mosla, green chilies (optional), salt, oil, chopped fresh coriander leaves and red chili powder. Make a smooth paste so that no big lump of potato remains in it.
- Stuff the chilies with this potato mixture. Stuff as much as you can and seal the slit are with some of the same potato mixture.
- In a bowl,take besan, rice flour, semolina, salt, baking soda, carom seeds, asafoetia, and nigella seeds. Add water and make thick batter. Do not make it runny. The consistency should be like a whipped up thick yogurt. Now with hand or a hand beater, beat it for 7-10 minutes, until it becomes fluffy and airy.
- Heat oil in a kadai. Check whether the oil is piping hot by dropping a little batter in the oil. If the batter starts to sizzle and fries immediately then your oil is ready.
- Dip the stuffed chilies in the batter, shake off the excess batter and put it into the hot oil.
- Turn and flip accordingly, to make the fritters brown from both sides. Take them out of the pan when they turns golden brown.
- Serve hot and with your choice of chutney.
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