Boondi is made using Besan (Chick Pea Flour). It is round in shape – small balls. They are made for making spicy Boondi or sweet Boondi. Spicy Boondi is made adding spices to the Boondi. Fried Peanuts and Cashew Nuts are added to the Boondis along with fried Curry Leaves and you get the tasty Kara Boondi mixture.
Ingredients:
Besan (Chick Pea Flour / Kadalai Mavu) – 2 cups
Rice Flour – 2 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Turmeric Powder – 2 pinch
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Baking Soda – 2 pinch
Water – as required
Peanuts – ½ cup
Cashews – 10 to 12
Curry Leaves – from 2 sprigs
Red Chilli Powder – ½ tsp (Adjust to suit taste)
Salt – 1 pinch
Method:
Sieve the Besan and Rice flour together. Take the sieved flours in a mixing bowl.
Add Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Asafoetida and 2 pinches of Baking Soda.
Mix them with a spoon. Add water little by little and keep mixing till you get a thick batter. It should be little thicker than the Bhaji batter.
Heat enough Oil in a pan for deep frying the Kara Boondi. When Oil is very hot, dip the stem of a spoon in the batter and allow the batter to drop in the oil. Let few drops fall into the oil.
If the drops, which fall into the Oil, pop up immediately to the surface of the Oil in good round shape, the temperature and the consistency of the batter is perfect. If the Boondi is flat, the batter is thinner than required. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of Besan and mix well to make it little thicker. If the Boondi comes up with a tail, the batter is little thick. Add little water and make it thinner.
Once you achieve the correct batter consistency, we can start making the Boondis. We need a broad spoon with number of holes in it. We call it Boondi ladle.
Hold the ladle just above the hot oil. Reduce the flame to middle flame. Pour little batter on the ladle. Do not shake or tap the ladle. Let the batter fall thru the holes of the ladle on its own into the Oil. When it stops dropping, move away the ladle. Increase the flame to medium high. Fry the Boondis till it turns golden and the sizzling stops. Remove the Boondis with another slotted spoon, hold the spoon above the Oil so that excess Oil drops back to the pan. Transfer the Boondis to a bowl lined with tissue towel.
Before you start frying the next batch of Boondis, wipe out the bottom of the ladle which you use to drop the batter into the Oil and ensure that the earlier batter is not blocking the holes. Or wash the ladle and dry it before next use. Fry Boondis from the remaining batter in the same way.
Now, reduce the flame to medium low and fry the Peanuts. Transfer the peanuts to a plate. Also, fry the Cashew Nuts golden brown and transfer to a plate.
Fry the Curry Leaves for few seconds and fry them crisp. Transfer to a plate.
In a large mixing bowl, take the Boondis when they are cool. Add the Chilli Powder (adjust the quantity to suit your taste) and Salt (to suit your taste). Add the peanuts, Cashews. Mix and combine them well.
Store in a dry air tight container.
