Vazhakkai Bajji|Raw Banana Fritters

Vazhakkai Bajji|Raw Banana Fritters is a famous street food in South India. You will find it every roadside tea/coffee shops in the evenings, served hot and spicy. This recipe will help you make this easy evening snack with ingredients that you might already have in your pantry.

These days you will find ready-made bajji mix packets being sold at stores, but I have never used them. Why buy it when you can make this from scratch yourself? My mom always made this recipe during the weekends or when we had friends and family visiting us. As I have mentioned in my other posts, it is a tradition to have something spicy along with with something sweet. For example, if I make vazhakkai bajji ( a spicy snack), I also make kesari ( a sweet snack) 😉

How to make Vazhakkai Bajji|Raw Banana Fritters?

I use a combination of gram flour and rice flour to make the batter for the bajji. The rice flour helps the bajjis/fritters stay crispy. I also add a pinch of baking soda to the batter to make the bajjis a little fluffy.

Always use green plantains/raw banana to make bajjis/fritters. Quick tip: cut off the ends of the bananas before storing them in refrigerators to prevent it from becoming ripe. Wash and peel the raw bananas and slice them into thin pieces (vertically) and then make the batter. In a mixing bowl, add gram flour, rice flour, chili powder, salt, and baking soda. Add water in small amounts to make the batter and also make sure there are no lumps. You can taste the batter at this point to check if you have added enough salt and chili powder. Add more if required. You can also add red-orange food coloring to achieve the signature color that you might find in restaurants and teas shops.

Heat oil in a kadai/wok on medium-high heat. Once the oil os hot, dip the thinly sliced vazhakkai/raw banana pieces in the batter and drop tthem in the oil. Flip them using a slotted spoon. When bajjis turn golden, remove them from oil and place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serving suggestions

Vazhakkai Bajji|Raw Banana Fritters is best had with a cup of hot chai or coffee. If you can, serve them along with kesari or any other sweets.

Directions with pictures

1.Wash and peel Vazhakkai/Raw bananas/Plantains

2. Slice them into thin pieces vertically

3. In a mixing bowl, add gram flour, chili powder, salt, rice flour, baking soda

4. Add water in small amounts to make the batter (not too thick and not too runny). Check the video for the consistency of the batter.

5. Now add a pinch of baking soda to the batter. Give it all a good mix. Make sure there are no lumps

6. Heat oil to a wok/kadai

7. Next dip the sliced vazhakkai/raw banana pieces in the batter, make sure they are covered completely in the batter and drop them in hot oil

8. Flip them until they turn golden brown on either side; remove bajjis/fritters from oil and place them bajjis/fritters on paper towel

9. Serve hot with a cup of coffee or chai