The Indian Subcontinent is a diversified land which openly embraces the food culture from other parts of the world. Adding little flavours of Homeland spices make it irresistible to eat and are even more amazing than the original recipes. Here is the list of 20 deep fried goodies we Indians love to nibble on, be it for breakfast or tea time snacks.
1. Ariselu/ Adirasam
Adirasam is a traditional sweet hailing from Tamil cuisine. It is a famous sweet offered to gods at the time of puja and prayers. The locals present around 6000 doughnut- like vadas to the deity on the grand occasion of Diwali. This sweet is made up of rice flour, jaggery, butter and pepper. The preparation takes almost a week. After the flour pulverised into a fine powder, the rice gets soaked in water followed by adding jaggery along with cardamom. For 3-4 days, it is fermented. Once the batter is ready, it is then deep fried and served.For 3-4 days, it is fermented. Once the batter is ready, it is then deep fried and served.
2. Banana Chips
Banana chips are one of the favourite lip smacking snacks. This dish originated from the state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and Maritime Southeast Asia in Indonesia. These deep fried slices of bananas sometimes coated with honey or sugar or the spices as per the requirement of individuals’ taste buds. Even bakery shops sell this snack topped with chocolate syrup. Dried banana chips contain mostly all vitamins and minerals.
3. Batata Vada
Potato fritters, also known as BatataVada in India, is a popular snack in Maharashtra. We can tell by the name ‘BATATA’ which means potato, and it came into account when Portuguese came to India and started growing them. It consists of mash patty coated in chickpea flour, then deep-fried and served with green or tamarind chutney. It is round with two or three inches of layers around it.
4. Bikaneri Bhujia
In 1877, when Maharaja ShriDungar Singh ruled region of Bikaner in Rajasthan, this particular dish came into existence and over the span of 140 years bhujia has become a favourite snack served with tea. To make Bikaneri Bhujia, one has to dough moth dal besan together along with chana dal, powdered fibre, salt, chillies, black pepper and cardamom and then deep fried in vegetable oil. Not only in Rajasthan, but bhujia has also taken an unusual form and is widely enjoyed by people around the world, under the brand named BIKAJI.
5. Chole Bhature
Whenever I think of Delhi, the first thing that comes to my mind is the delicious street food and not to forget- the great Chole bhature. This dish originated mainly from Punjab cuisine. Chole is a spicy curry made from chickpeas whereas Bhatura is fried leavened bread. There are different varieties of bhatura available such as Aaloo bhatura, Paneer bhatura, etc. The gravy is made up of tomatoes, onions, garlic and Garam masala. Usually served with kulcha, naan or rice.
6. Dhokla
Dhokla is a traditional dish originated in the state of Gujarat. Dhokla is made with a fermented batter derived from rice and split chickpeas. This dish is eaten for breakfast, as the main course, as a side dish or as a snack. It is almost similar to khaman. To make this meal, you need to soak rice and split chickpeas overnight. The mixture is then fermented for 4-5 hours or overnight, spiced with chilli pepper, coriander and ginger and baking soda. It is then in fried in hot oil with cumin seeds. Served with chillies and coriander chutney. There is a variety of Dhoklas found in separate parts of India. Some of them are Khatta Dhokla, Rasia Dhokla, Khandvi Dhokla and Rawa Dhokla.
7. Flattened Rice
Crushed rice, also known as beaten rice or Poha in India, is a famous breakfast snack to munch. Wake up at 4 a.m. and plan a short trip to pohawalas on the streets of Indore. The dried rice flakes are added to water, milk or any other liquids with salts and sugar to taste. Then it is lightly fried in oil with nuts, raisins, cardamoms and other spices. This snack is not only famous in Madhya Pradesh; it is widely sought out snack after omelette.
8. Omelette
Omelette is made up of eggs and is quick to make and serve. Break one or two eggs into a bowl and add spices and other favourable ingredients with a pinch of salt. They get deep fried in butter or oil in a frying pan. With some toppings on top of the omelette, your dish is ready to be served. Omelettes came into use during mid- 16th century. This snack comes in different varieties, some of them being Nargesi omelette, frittata omelette and Indian omelette.
9. Kachori
The mouth-watering spicy snack is popular in India, Pakistan and other parts of South Asia. Earlier kachori was famous only in Delhi and Kota and some other parts of Rajasthan. Banarasidas, the author of biography Ardhakathanaka, has mentioned buying kachoris in Agra in 1613. The puree stuffed with many different ingredients is deeply fried in hot oil and served with spicy chutneys. The variety includes Shegaon ka chori, club kachoris of Kolkata, kachoris of Delhi.
10. Parantha
Famous unleavened flatbreads, also called paranthas, are leisurely eaten as breakfast in most parts of India. They are made up of a whole wheat doughnut on a tava and finished with shallow frying. It is the condensed version of chapatti that we Indians eat on a daily basis. There are two categories of paranthas- plain and stuffed. The process usually includes flattening wheat dough into moderately shaped circles. To put stuffing into it or not is one’s choice. The filling differs in the main ingredients like- cabbage, potato, reddish, etc. It’s easy to make and served with yoghurt, pickles or any chutney.
11. Pav Bhaji
The dish came into existence in the 1850s as a quick lunchtime snack for textile mill workers in Mumbai. But this snack was so much loved by the people of our country that it is now even sold in restaurants. Pav Bhaji consists of a thick curry of a variety of vegetables in it. It is usually prepared in butter and served with soft bread rolls called pav. Bhaji is made up of different vegetables in the various regions. Some of them are mushroom pavbhaji, khada pav bhaji and jain pav bhaji, etc.
12. Samosa
Samosas were first introduced in India in the 13th or 14th century by traders of Central Asia. This simple snack contains wheat flour or maida flour shell with fillings of mashed potatoes, peas, onions, chillies and spices in it. After mixing everything into one shell, the openings closed and deep fried into golden- brown vegetable oil. It is served hot with fresh Indian chutneys. It is a personal delight in Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and other Northern States of India. Every state has its name for samosas. Some of them are- singharas in Odisha, Lukhmi in Hyderabad, chamucas in South India.
13. Vadapav
Vadapav is yet another dish famous in Maharashtra. It holds great importance in hearts of Mumbaikars as this is the most savoured snack there. The recipe is simple regarding processing. It involves deep fried potato patty along with spices and coriander, pressed between soft bread rolls. We can experience the real taste after adding some chutneys and condiments to it.
14. Paneer Chilli Pakoda
Paneer chilli pakoras are famous in every Indian household. The process involves splitting chillies and stuffing them with a small proportion of paneer stuffing. A pinch of salt, corn flour, water is mixed to make a thick paste. The stuffed chillies are now dipped well into the flour mixture and deep fried in hot oil till they turn golden- brown. Serve hot with coriander chutney. If you haven’t tasted this dish yet, now is the time you must enjoy it.
15. Spring Rolls
Spring rolls come in different shapes, sizes and fillings and have been a popular snack in Asia for centuries. Locals believe it to originate from China, our neighbouring country. We are greatly influenced by China and its food culture and have tried to adopt them all. They are rolled appetisers with cabbage and other kinds of vegetables into thin cylindrical pastry. They get deeply fried in hot oil till turning golden brown in colour. They are served crispy and cut into small pieces. Topping of schezwan sauce is necessary for better taste.
16. Bread Pakoda
Bread pakora was an eye-opener when only VadaPav and PavBhaji were thought to be best street food. This batter- fried bread fritters are available all over the country. The bread pakoras are even more exciting when topped with a variety of chutneys.
17. Brinjal Fritters
Called as Baingan masala, this dish involves different preparation of cheese sandwiched between brinjal slices. This recipe is a regular meal in every Indian household. Although children might hate the taste of brinjal, this dish will surely bring water into your mouths. Only some green chillies, mozzarella cheese and processed cheese, are mixed to form a batter. The prepared brinjal is dipped fully into the batter and fried till it turns golden brown.
18. Onion Ring Pakodas
Onion rings is a delicious Indian recipe and are widely loved. The process is quite simple on other snacks. Whole rings of onion are peeled and dipped in batter or breadcrumbs and then deep fried. Often served with chutneys and kinds of ketchup for enhanced flavours. The origination is dated in 1933 when a recipe for onion deep-fried rings dipped in milk, first appeared in a Crisco advertisement in The New York Times.
19. Veg Fried Momos
As mentioned above, Indians are heavily influenced by Chinese food culture. Momos are believed to be originated from China and are greatly loved by Indians. One can find the best and delicious momos in streets of Delhi. Be it fried or steamed, name it and you will find all the variety there.
20. Gulab Jamun
Another sweet dish prepared in every household with great pleasure. The milk- solid based South Asian sweet, is mostly common in Guyana, Jamaica and Mauritius. The process includes heating milk over a low flame till water evaporates. The milk solids ‘KHOYA’ are kneaded into the dough with a pinch of flour and then shaped into perfect small balls, and deep fried at around 148 degrees C. Those balls are soaked in sugary syrup and cardamom, rose water, kewra or saffron and deeply fried.
This list already boosted my inner cravings for these delicious snacks.
Try this at home; you won’t be disappointed.
