This is a perfect combination for rainy days, when you crave for some nice chai and some some bhajji / pakoda to accompany.
Ingredients
For Masala Chai -
Milk - 1 Cup
Water - 1 Cup
Tea Powder - 2 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch (chopped or grated)
Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch
Cardamon Pods - 2 Pods
Clove - 1 (Optional)
Sugar - As per taste
For Spinach Bhajji and Onion Pakoda
Spinach - 12 - 15 leaves
Onion - 1/4th Cup Diced
Chickpea Flour (Besan) - 1/2 Cup
Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4th tsp
Salt - As per taste
Water - As needed to make the batter (around 1/3rd Cup)
Oil - As needed to fry (I used 1/5th cup in total)
Recipe -
For making masala chai,
In your small tea saucepan, add the milk, water and the whole spices and let it come to boil. Once its boiled lower the gas and add the tea powder and let it simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Add sugar and serve hot. Your masala chai is ready to be enjoyed.
For making Bhajji and Pakoda,
Take a small mixing bowl and add in the chickpea flour (besan) with salt, chilly powder and turmeric powder and mix well. Now add water as needed to make a slightly thiner pancake batter.
Now heat the oil and take each spinach leave and dip in the batter and fry until done. Make sure your spinach leaves are not soaking wet after cleaning. I do pat them dry with a kitchen roll before dipping in the batter to avoid the spluttering.
Once your spinach leaves are done, add in the diced onions in the batter and mix well. For making bajji, the batter needs to be a bit more thicker. So adjust the consistency by adding more chickpea flour (Besan) or water as needed.
In the same oil, add small spoonfuls and let it harden up before you stir and fry until the onions are cooked and the outside is crispy. It's better to cook these in a lower flame to ensure it's cooked throughout properly.
I like my pakoda and bhajji to have the bright yellow color and I fry only until they are cooked through, but if you like more crispy bhajji / pakoda, just fry them a little more until you get your desired crispiness.
Bhajji and Tea have been our family favorite and I hope you would love it as much as my family does. I used spinach here, but you can do the same with sliced potatoes too. Just slice it thin enough to cook through.
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