Aloo Bhujia | Crunchy Potato Mixture (Step by Step Pics)

Aloo Bhujia is a perfect tea time snack and quite addictive as well. We are a die hard fans of the store brought aloo bhujia and I have made aloo bhujia referring several recipes but the results were not so satisfactory with regard to the store brought taste. 'Aloo' refers to potato and 'bhujia' refers to the crunchy sev or mixture. The potato flavor in this mixture added along with besan(kadalmavu) makes it stand out with a tangy flavor. Amchur powder adds the tanginess and is a must for this recipe. These are perfect to dust over idiyappam upma or hot khichadi or they can be just sprinkled over any of the chaats like dabeli, papdi chaat, bhelpuri (if you don't like sprinkling regular sev).

Haldiram and Bikaner are the two best brands of aloo bhujia that kids love. Of late, there has been several trial and error with regard to making aloo bhujia at home from scratch. I wished to recreate the same taste, flavors and believe me, I can claim this is so far the best recipe that almost matches the store brought version. Kids were totally mad over this homemade aloo bhujia and I haven't bought the store brought pack after trying this successful attempt. These are perfect crunchy with the perfect balance of flavors. Double up the ingredients and make bigger batches if you wish. Do give this a try if you love aloo bhujia.

Preparation time ~ 20 minutes

Cooking time ~ 10 minutes

Serves ~ about 250 gms

Author ~ Julie

Ingredients 

potato/ urulakizhangu /aloo 3 medium sized boiled & grated

besan (kadalmavu) 1 1/4 cup

kashmiri chilly powder 1/2 tsp

amchur powder 3/4 tsp

coriander powder 1/2 tsp

black salt / inthuppu 1/2 tsp

salt 1/2 tsp 

black pepper powder 1/2 tsp

turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

dry ginger powder (chukku podi) a good pinch

oil (any neutral oil) 1.5 tbsp

Oil for deep frying

chat masala 1 tsp(garnish)

Method

• Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker with enough water and light salt. (I usually give three whistles, then peel the skin of potatoes and keep aside. Don’t leave the boiled potatoes in water else will absorb water).
• Grate the potatoes using a grater, grating ensures its evenly mashed. Now, sieve the spices one by one or mixed together(sieving ensures that only the fine powder falls and so creates a smooth dough) over the grated potatoes, mix well to mash the potatoes smoothly with the spices. Finally toss in the gram flour. Add one cup of besan(kadalamavu) first, check consistency and then add 1/4 cup more if needed. Add the oil too in between and knead to a smooth dough (I didn’t use any water to knead the dough as the oil and moisture from mashed potatoes was good enough).

• Use an idiyappam press or mould, apply a thin layer of oil in the inside of the mould. Transfer the dough to the mould and check for readiness. 
• Heat a pan with enough oil (upto 2’ deep) to fry the aloo bhujia. Press the mould by holding over the heated oil(just make sure the flame is low when pressing the mould, else your hands may heat up). Now wait till the bubbles settle and flip the other side. Wait for the bubbles to reduce and then immediately remove from oil. Drain on paper towel.

• Repeat making the same fries till you finish with the prepared dough. Then crush the prepared aloo bhujia and add in chaat masala. Cool completely before storing in air tight containers.
  
  

NOTES

* Use kashmiri chilli powder for the color of bhujia like store brought. If you use hot chilly powder, then the color may not be the same.

* You can add hing(kayam podi) 1/4 tsp instead of dry ginger powder too. You can add 1/2 tsp pepper powder along with chaat masala for final mixing if you wish to have spicy.

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