Category: Snacks

This is a crispy chickpea batter snack, filled with fluffy, light seasoned potatoes, commonly sold by street vendors and packed in tiffin containers. You can serve bondas with any chutney you like — cilantro, coconut, mint, tamarind, tomato, etc. Best eaten while still hot!

2 T vegetable oil

1 c. warm water

additional vegetable oil for deep-frying

1. Boil potatoes until cooked through, drain and let cool. Peel and mash the potatoes.

2. Heat 2 T oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat; add mustard seeds and dried chilies; fry for a minute. Then add onion and green chili, turn down to medium and cook, stirring as needed, until onion is golden-translucent.

3. Add the mashed potato, curry leaves, 1/2 t. salt, 1 c. water, 1/2 t. lime juice. Cook, stirring periodically, until water is absorbed and the mixture is thick.

4. Remove pan from heat, remove any large pieces of dried chili and any large curry leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired, let cool, and refrigerate until firm. Shape the mixture into small balls. (The balls of seasoned potato can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for a few days if desired.)

5. Make batter: combine ingredients and whisk until well-blended.

6. Heat oil for deep-frying (to about 375F if you have a food thermometer). Dip the potato balls in to the batter, then deep-fry for a few minutes, until golden. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain, and serve warm, with chutney.

(serves 4-8, 90 minutes + soaking time)

Sundals are savory snacks; this one is popular served in a newspaper cone, to be nibbled at while strolling on a sunny beach. Fluffy seasoned chickpeas offer healthy nutrition, but more importantly, they’re delicious!

1 c. green mango, chopped

1. Drain chickpeas and rinse in cold water.

2. Heat oil in a large pot on medium-high; add onions (or shallots) and chilies; sauté stirring until onions are translucent.

3. Add chickpeas, cayenne, and salt to the same pot, with sufficient water to cover. Bring to a boil, then turn down and cook until tender, approximately 1 hr. Near the end of cooking, remove lid and let any remaining water boil off; for the final result, chickpeas should be glistening with a light sheen of oil.

4. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and chopped mango; mix thoroughly and serve as a snack, or as an accompaniment to a rice and curry meal.

NOTE: Common variations include sautéing mustard seeds, curry leaves, and/or chopped green chili with the onions, and stirring in fresh coconut and/or chopped raw onion at the end.

Mung Bean, Rice & Coconut Sweetmeats

Payatham paniyaram urundai is a homestyle sweet made from humble ingredients, popular in Jaffna. Nutty red rice flour combines with roasted mung bean flour, toasted coconut, and complex jaggery to create a protein-rich sweet, which is then dipped in batter and briefly fried.

The end result offers a blend of sweet-salty flavor, along with textural contrast. These protein-packed treats are typically served at festive occasions in Sri Lanka.

1/3 c. warm water

1/3 c. warm water

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

NOTE: It’s easy to grind mung beans and rice into flour in a blender; the kind used for smoothies works well. For this recipe, you can use either whole green mung beans, or split yellow mung beans; the latter may be easier to grind.

1. In a frying pan on medium-high toast mung bean flour for a few minutes, stirring, until pleasantly aromatic. Combine in a large bowl with red rice flour, jaggery or brown sugar, white sugar, and cardamom powder.

2. In the same pan, toast grated coconut, stirring, until it is lightly golden; a few minutes. Add to the mixture in the bowl.

3. Add 1/3 c. warm water and mix well. Shape mixture into small, tightly-packed balls (roughly 1 inch) and set aside on a plate.

4. Now make the batter — in a small bowl, combine white flour, turmeric, and fine salt. Add roughly 1/3 c. warm water; the batter should be thick and pourable.

5. Heat oil for deep-frying until very hot (about 350F if you’re using a thermometer or electric fryer). Dip each ball into batter and drop gently into hot oil, a few at a time. You want to avoid having them stick together, and also avoid lowering the temperature too much by adding many at once. Cook until lightly golden, a minute or two, and then remove to a plate lined with paper towel.

6. Serve at room temperature; payatham paniyaram may be stored in an airtight container for a few days, but they’re best freshly-fried. If you’d like to store them longer, be sure to omit the coconut.