South Indian Bonda - A potato delicacy

South Indian Bonda is a popular Indian street food. Potato mixture is coated in chickpea flour (besan) batter and deep fried until golden brown. It is served with coconut chutney on the side.

Bonda is one of the first few dishes that I tried during my early cooking days. It is so simple and easy that I took this to almost all party and potluck dinners until everyone got tired of eating this. Ah, gone are those days. Those were the bittersweet times. Far away from home and the closest to a family were friends, spending every weekend and holidays together. Late night movies and food were our best companions. As a newbie in the kitchen, making something as simple as a pulav was very daunting. Bonda was the first thing that I tried after gaining some experience and confidence. Well, what can go wrong with potatoes, eh?

Bonda is a very ancient Indian dish. It has been mentioned as early as the 12th century. King Someswara has mentioned about this in his scholarly work - Manasollasa. It is an encyclopedic work that has information about everything from food to astrology to science. A similar recipe is printed in that work known as Parika.

Indian cuisine uses potato in large quantities and there are two similar snacks called batata vada and mysore bonda which are equally popular. All three snacks use potatoes and differ slightly. The outer coating is sometimes chickpea or all-purpose batter and are deep-fried. Bonda has become a popular tea time snack in South India. Moist and super soft filling that has a crispy and spicy outer coating made of besan. Serve this with a coconut chutney and a hot cup of masala chai.

5 from 2 votes

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Aloo bonda

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Course: Appetizer, Street food

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 8 medium sized balls

Author: Nisha

Ingredients

Potato filling

• 1.5 cups cooked and mashed potatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• Few curry leaves, torn
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Few finely chopped coriander leaves

For the outer layer

• 3/4 cup besan (fine chickpea flour)
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

Potato filling

1. Cook the potatoes. Pressure cook them or cook on a stove top until the potatoes mash easily. 

2. Heat oil in a Kadai or a pan. Once it is hot add the onions, green chillies, turmeric powder, and the curry leaves. Saute until the onions soften and turn translucent. 

3. Then add the cooked potatoes, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes on a medium-high flame, to take away any extra moisture present in the potato mixture. 

4. Turn off the flame. Once it cools down, divide the mixture into 8 medium sized balls. Keep it aside. 

For the outer layer

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water little by little and make a smooth batter. The batter should be thick and not runny. 

Making Bondas

1. Heat oil in a deep heavy bottomed pan for deep frying. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a pinch of batter with a spoon in the oil. The batter should rise immediately to the top.

2. Once the oil is hot, take each potato mixture ball, dip it in the batter such that it covers on all sides. Drop this batter coated potato mixture gently into the oil. 

3. Fry until it becomes golden brown on all sides. Remove it with a slotted spoon onto a tissue paper. Repeat the same for the rest of the mixture.

4. Serve it warm with coconut chutney. I also like to add few chopped onions on the side.