Bhajji Ambado (Amaranth Leaves Fritters)

Bhajji Ambado is a delicious rice based fritter. In Konkani, bhajji means amaranth leaves. I got this recipe from my mother. My mother uses a different leaf called 'Taikilo', which grows abundantly in the monsoon season. I am a big fan of those fritters. Since I don't have access to taikilo (an edible weed), I just used amaranth leaves. Guess what? To my surprise, it tasted  similar to those fritters and I was on top of the world:-) I didn't even think that it would taste that good. Do try making these fritters and enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• Amaranth leaves, finely chopped - 1 cup, packed 
• Rice - 1 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1 Tbsp
• Dry Red chilli - 6-7
• Tamarind- A small piece
• Salt- To taste
• Oil - For deep frying

Procedure:

Wash and soak rice in water, for 2 hours.

While it is soaking, wash the amaranth leaves and pat dry using a towel. Then give it a rough chop.

Once the rice gets well soaked, drain the water completely. Now grind together the soaked rice, red chilli, grated coconut, tamarind and salt to get a coarse sticky paste (don't add water while grinding).

The final mixture somewhat looks like this (not too fine or not too coarse).

I hope its clear from the picture. The crushed rice grains should not be too coarse or turned to a paste. Making this paste is a very important step. Once the rice mixture is ready, start heating the oil. Check for salt in the rice mixture.

If the oil is hot enough then, its time to add the chopped leaves (this has to be done absolutely at the end because they give out moisture when mixed with rice mixture. If the moisture content in the final mixture is more, then the fritters will absorb more oil. Hence this is another important step) to the rice mixture. The final mixture just before frying looks like this.

Now make small balls of the mixture and just flatten them slightly like this-

Fry them (don't over crowd while frying and the flame should be medium-high) in hot oil until they turn crispy and dark brown on both sides. 

Once it is done, drain them on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Bhajji Ambado is ready!!

Serve it hot with rice and dalitoy. Above measurement makes 12- 14 fritters.