Description
Piyaji is a popular snack in West Bengal, often found in roadside fritter shops aka chop-er dokan. Making it at home is relatively easy, as the process is simple and doesn't require any fancy ingredients. Here is a guide to creating a homemade version of this street-style snack.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4 Onion (big)
- 4-5 Green Chillies
- 2 Dry Red Chillies
- 8 Tbsp. Besan aka Gram Flour
- 2 Tsp. Rice Flour
- 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- 150ml Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Begin by peeling the skin off of the onions and slicing them into pieces.
- Chop up some green chilies as well.
- Heat up around 150ml of vegetable oil in a pan.
- Fry two dry red chilies in it until they become crispy.
- Remove the fried chillies from the pan and set them aside.
- Move the chopped onions to a bowl and add the fried dry red chilies and green chilies to it.
- Add 6 tablespoons of besan (gram flour), 2 teaspoons of rice flour (optional, but necessary for a crunchy texture), 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Crumble the fried red chili and mix all of the ingredients together using your fingers for one minute.
- The onions should start releasing moisture.
- Add 50ml of water and mix for another minute.
- Repeat with 50ml (or less) of water and 1 tablespoon of besan.
- The batter should not be runny.
- Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before frying Bengali onion fritters.
- Use the same oil that was used to fry the red chillies.
- Heat it properly before lowering the heat to medium.
- Fry 2-3 piyaji at a time, depending on the diameter of the kadhai being used.
- Fry each side for no more than 1 minute. Flip them over and repeat for the other side. Once they're a nice brown color, strain them.
- Continue frying the remaining fritters using the same method.
Notes
- It's important to marinate chopped onion for a short period of time and never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking points to avoid harmful compounds and ensure good ventilation when using a gas stove.
- Mustard oil is a good alternative to vegetable oil.
- For gluten-free Piyaji, skip rice flour and add chili pepper flakes while cooking for some heat.
- Adjust the size of the fritters to your preference and add Carom seed to the batter for extra crunch.
- Use a proper kadhai or non-stick pan for perfect fritters.
- Don't store Onion Fritters or chopped onions; make them fresh and enjoy them immediately.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Fritter
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Bengali
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25g
- Calories: 81
- Sugar: 1.3g
- Sodium: 184mg
- Fat: 7.1g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4g
- Carbohydrates: 3.8g
- Fiber: 0.7g
- Protein: 0.8g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
