Badanekayi (Eggplant/Brinjal) Bajji (Podi / Fritters)

Ingredients:
2 medium sized Eggplant / Brinjal / Badanekayi
1.5 - 2 cups Bengal Gram flour / Besan flour / Kadle hudi
1/4 cup Rice flour / Akki hudi
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1.5 - 2 tsp Chilly powder
Pinch of Cooking Soda
Big pinch of Asafoetida powder / Hingu
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds / Jeerige
15 - 20 Carom seeds / Ajwain seeds / Oma
Oil

Recipe:

Cut the eggplant into medium sized pieces as shown in the picture below. Put little amount of buttermilk, salt, around 3-4 cups of water in a vessel and soak the chopped eggplant in this water for about 5 mins. Remove the eggplant pieces from water and keep it aside.

Put rice flour, bengal gram flour, asafetida, cumin seeds, ajwain seeds, cooking soda, garam masala, salt, chilly powder in a vessel. Mix them well by adding sufficient amount of water. (Don't make the batter too thin.)

Keep oil in a thick bottomed vessel and heat. Take each piece of eggplant, dip it in batter and deep fry it in oil.

Serve hot along with tomato ketchup.