POTATO BONDA BALLS AT LA OLA FRESCA

: la ola fresca

: la ola fresca

: la ola fresca

Bouncing back to Valencia?! Put yourself in step with this tasty South Indian recipe for ‘Potato Bonda balls’. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, they are bonda wonderful!

This recipe is inspired from my all-time favourite cookbook ‘World Food Cafe’ written by Chris and Carolyn Caldicot, my avid travelling & cook guru friends. It is adapted from the ‘Mysore Bonda’ recipe, which are made with rice flour instead of potatoes.

You can serve them as a snack on their own or with green coconut chutney.

As our recipe comes from South India, please spare a thought for Kerala where they have suffered terrible floods this year. This month we will be offering solidarity Oxfam Coffee and fair-trade tea, for donations towards the emergency aid response…

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

4 large potatoes peeled, cooked and mashed

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tablespoon dessicated coconut

2 green chillies… finely chopped (add more if you can brave the heat)

5cm/2 inch piece of root ginger peeled and finely grated

1 dessert spoon sesame seeds

1 dessert spoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon of coriander leaves, chopped

Oil for frying

For the batter

6 tablespoons gram flour

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon chilli powder

Method

Mix all the batter ingredients in a bowl. Add water until a thick paste forms.

Mix all the rest of the ingredients well with a potato masher. Mould by hand into golf ball sized balls.

Heat the oil. When it is hot enough that the batter will sizzle and bubble, dip each ball in the batter mixture and deep fry in 2-3 batches turning regularly until golden brown all over. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot or cold.

Green Coconut Chutney

Serves 4 to 6

Handful of coriander leaves

Handful of mint leaves

1 garlic clove

2.5cm / 1 inch piece of root ginger peeled and chopped

2 green chillies

250g/9oz desiccated coconut

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, adding just enough water to make it moist.

September in La Ola Fresca