Cooking has been a passion to me since the time I have seen my mom cook with so much love and joy. Be it an elaborate fancy meal or a simple snack or homemade pickles and papads or even a lemonade, I have seen my Mom put her heart and soul into it, making every dish perfect. I can today proudly say she is my favorite chef and mentor 🙂

Apart from my mom, I do have some other chefs whom I follow – some in the family and some famous master chefs around the globe. One among them is Vikas Khanna – a very famous Michelin star Indian chef who owns a successful restaurant in New York City. I was fortunate to meet him in person when I went to buy one of his books – RETURN TO THE RIVERS – which has some mouthwatering recipes from the Himalayan cuisine.

One recipe that caught my attention was the Ginger flavored eggplant fritters. So, I decided to give it a try and Boy! it is simply delicious 🙂

So today, I am sharing the recipe for Ginger Eggplant Fritters 🙂

Enjoy this deep fried snack with a hot cup of tea on a chilly day:)

RECIPE:

Video Link:

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Makes: 15-20 fritters (depends on the eggplant and the slices made)

INGREDIENTS:

• Eggplant – 1 small (I used half of the big one)

• Green chillies – 2 to 3

• Ginger – 1 inch

• Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves

• Coriander Leaves – few

• Gram Flour – 1 cup

• Rice Flour – 1/2 cup

• Ajwain – 1 tsp

• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp

• Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

• Oil – 1 tsp + for deep frying

• Salt – as per taste

• Water – about 1/2 to 3/4 cup for making batter

METHOD:

Wash and slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch circles or semi-circles.

In a stainless steel or glass bowl (non-reactive containers), add the eggplant slices, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and oil. Mix well.

Cover and keep aside.

In a mixer, grind the green chillies, ginger and garlic into a fine paste adding little water and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, sieve the gram flour and rice flour.

Add the chopped coriander leaves, ajwain and ground green chilli-ginger-garlic paste. Mix well.

Next, add required amount of water at intervals to make a batter with a consistency thicker than a dosa batter.

**Make sure the batter is not too watery, else it will not coat on the eggplant well.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan on a medium flame.

Before frying the fritters, make sure the oil is hot enough by dropping a tiny bit of the gram flour batter. If the batter comes up immediately, it means the oil is hot enough to fry.

Dip the eggplant in the gram flour (besan) batter and deep fry till golden brown.

Once done, garnish with chaat powder, red chilli powder, coriander leaves and onions.

Serve hot with a hot cup of chai or coffee.