Soya Bean Savoury Fritters

This post had been lying in my draft for nearly a month. The first time when I made the fritters as a kitchen experiment, I never knew it was going to be a great success among the rest in my family. This recipe was adapted from my earlier post of 'Masala Vadai'. I felt that using Australian dal (type of Channa dal) as a main component in this fritter creates heaviness after devouring few pieces. So, an idea struck my mind of using white soya bean which was left in the pantry for many months. Well, it was a good excuse to eliminate the stuff from my pantry after the last attempt of making soya bean beverage. There wasn't any strange smell of soya but surprisingly it created soft interior. I kept the use of other ingredients to minimum. Blended green chillies and fennel along with Australian dal and soya bean indeed a special concoction. Well of course the fritter was deep fried but once in a blue moon, you need to indulge the soul with unhealthy way of cooking but entice your heart with the use of healthy ingredients. A CHEAT TREAT for your heart and soul, I guess.  I hope many viewers will try this recipe and have a great success in their kitchen.

Soya Bean Savoury Fritter

Ingredients :

Australian Bengal dal or Australian Channa dal : 1/2 cup
White soya bean : 1 3/4 cups
Onion :1 medium

Small green chillies :6 (adjust accordingly)

Fennel seeds : 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp (used more in place of asofetida)

Curry leaves : 2 sprigs

Salt : as needed 

Oil : for frying

Method :

1. Soak dal and soya bean in a sufficient water for 8 hours.

2. After 8 hours, drain off excess water in a colander.

3. In a liquidizer, add soaked dal and soya bean along with salt, chopped green chillies and 1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds. Grind half of the dal to a smooth paste and the other half grind to a coarse texture without adding water.

4. To the ground dal mixture, add finely chopped onion and curry leaves. I kept half the ground mixture in the refrigerator for later use. In that case, I did not add chopped onion to all the mixture only to the first batch of mixture that I planned to fry. The reason was I don't want liquid to ooze out after adding onion and salt and turn the mixture soggy and unpleasant.

5. Mix well and form a small lemon size ball and pat it lightly on top and edges.

6. Sufficient oil is needed for deep frying this savory balls. Keep oil on medium flame and make sure oil is hot enough before frying. 

7. Serve hot as an evening snack.

-Abby