Tomato Bhajiya
Tomato Bhajiya is a one of a kind Surati specialty, tomatoes topped with bright green chutney, coated with spicy chickpea flour and deep fried to perfection.
Back home growing up, we looked forward to Sundays. That is because, Sundays were all about desi Gujarati Style snack and cha. I call it my kinda desi Sunday Brunch. One of the very famous and popular Sunday morning activities includes a long drive to Duman beach. It is along the Arabian Sea. This beach is known as the most haunted places in Gujarat. It is said that Duman Beach was once used as a Hindu burial ground. And hence is possessed by several haunting spirits that never left the region. Besides all the scary things about this spot, it is also knows for one a kind Tomato Bhajiya/Pakora/Puri. So let’s forget about the haunted part and focus on this deliciousness.
These pakora are very unique. It is truly plant based goodies. They are made with tomatoes, topped with bright green chutney, coated with spicy chickpea flour and deep fried to perfection. Serve them pipping hot along with some bright green chutney, mirchi on side and kadak mithi masala chai! Just typing all this down makes me drool. Being outside of India for over a decade, the most I miss is of course friends and family, and then comes the food. I am sure you can tell why I miss food so much by looking at all delicious Surati food.
These bhajiyas are authentically made with regular ripe red tomatoes back home. But I like to use the special frying tomatoes that are hard, green and raw. I feel like raw green tomatoes hold the crunch lot better than red tomatoes. You can certainly use any kind. I always end up making with both! I strongly urge you to try these because I am sure, if you are not from Surat, you have been missing out on the best pakora of your life!! Try these PICKLED JALAPEÑOS PAKORA along with these Tomato Bhajiya. This will make the perfect Sunday morning treat!!
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Tomato Bhajiya
Ingredients
Green Chutney
- ½ bunch Fresh Cilantro
- ¼ bunch Fresh Mint
- ¼ inch Ginger root
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 2 Jalapeños
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- ½ tsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Oil
- ¼ cup Raw Unsalted Peanuts
- ½ tsp Sugar
Chickpea Flour Batter
- 1½ cup Chickpea Flour
- 1 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain
- 1 tsp Garam Masala less if it is very strong
- 2 tsp Cumin Coriander Powder/Dhana Jiru
- 1½ tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- water as needed to make thick batter
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tbsp Hot Oil
Other
- 6 medium Frying Green Tomatoes these are firmer with less jelly like texture inside, hold the crunch well after they are fried. You can certainly use regular firm tomatoes, as that is what authentic Surati bhajiya recipe uses
- 2 tbsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Coarsely Ground Dry Coriander Seeds
- 3 tbsp Chaat Masala
- Oil to deep fry I like to use peanut oil, but any oil with high smoke point should work.
Instructions
Make Green Chutney
- Blend all ingredients listed under "Green Chutney" ingredients to either smooth or grainy consistency based on your preference. Use least amount of water if needed since the consistency should be thick, not runny as we will be topping tomato slice with this chutney before coating them with chickpea flour batter. Keep it refrigerated until ready to make pakora.
Make Chickpea Batter
- Mix all ingredients listed under "Chickpea Batter" ingredients except hot oil and baking soda. The consistency of this batter should be like runny pancake batter. Mix in baking soda and hot oil right before you are ready to fry the pakora.
Make Pakora
- Heat oil in the deep wide pan for deep frying. Please be very careful while you fry pakoras.
- Slice all tomatoes ¼ inch thick.
- Once oil is hot, sprinkle some chaat masala on a slice of tomato. Spread thin layer of chutney on chaat masala layer. Deep it in the chickpea flour batter carefully so that chutney still stays on while the slice is fully coated with the batter.
- Hold it on a flat spoon or any flat spatula, quickly sprinkle some ground black pepper and ground coriander seeds.
- Place it carefully in hot oil and deep fry them on heat set between medium and high. Take your time to fry both sides until golden brown/yellow. Make sure the oil is hot before you start frying. If it is not, the pakoras will be undercooked and super oily.
- Once fried, place them on paper towels to help get rid of extra oil. Repeat assembling and frying all tomato slices.
- Once done, sprinkle a little more chaat masala on fried pakora and serve them immediately with the side of green chutney.
