Bonda or Batata Vada (Spiced Potato Ball Fritters)

Name: Bonda or Batata Vada (Spiced Potato Ball Fritters)
Yield: Makes 16 bondas
Ingredients: 1½ lbs unpeeled waxy potatoes (I use red ones), freshly boiled and cooled; 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil, plus more for deep-frying; Generous pinch of ground asafetida; ¼ teaspoon whole brown or yellow mustard seeds; 4 tablespoons finely chopped onions; 2 teaspoons peeled and very finely chopped fresh ginger; 1–2 fresh green chilies, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro; 1½–2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1¼ cups chickpea flour (besan or gram flour); ¼ cup rice flour (also called rice powder); ½ teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ajowan seeds; Generous pinch of ground asafetida; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

By Madhur Jaffrey

November 3, 2020

Round fried balls of bonda in a parchment lined bowl.

Photo by Jonathan Gregson

Wherever Indian snack sellers congregate, such as Chowpatty Beach in Bombay, you are likely to find some version of these bondas. Round in shape, with a chickpea flour skin on the outside and spicy crushed potatoes inside, they are served still hot and crisp from the karhais (woks) in which they are fried. Very popular in western and southern India, they are eaten with chutneys, such as tamarind chutney, green chutney, and red chutney from the Konkan Coast.

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