Bataka wada – Raipur Bhajia House Style

Any Amdavadi worth his/her salt will swear by Raipur na bhajia. Non-resident Amdavadis like me, would kill for a plate of Raipur bhajiyas, even when they are in the city just for a few hours. The Raipur Bhajia House near the Raipur Darwaza at Ahmedabad sells the best bhajias in the city. The menu is quite limited. Boiled potato bhajias, Bataka wadas, Methi bhajias and Khaman is all that is available at this shop. Earlier, the shop used to be right in the middle of a very busy junction, causing much traffic problems. So, the shop has now shifted a little on the side, but the popularity of these bhajias remains undiminished. The shop sells just bhajias and no accompaniments whatsoever. No fried chillies, no onions, no chutneys, no water and not even a plastic bag. From as long as I can remember, they have been selling the exact same bhajias wrapped in newspaper with a cotton thread. And people continue to throng this shop. No matter what time of the day or year you go, you have to stand in a queue. The one thing I love apart from the food ofcourse, is that they have a separate queue for women foodies, which is usually much shorter :). If you are not an Amdavadi, do pay a visit to the Raipur bhajia house when you are in the city and you’ll thank me.

Obviously, within a couple of days of me being in the city, I had my dose of Raipur bhajias. Driven by the enticingly delicious batakawadas, my mother and I decided to try and decipher their magical formula. Well, we did manage to get close to the Raipur bhajia version with the filling, but their perfect crispy cover still needs to be worked on. So, here come our attempt at cracking the Raipur bhajia house’s bataka vadas.

Now, the bataka wadas that we usually prepare are slightly different. In fact, there are a lot of versions of bataka wadas, but more on that later. The same preparation is called Batata wada in Bombay and other parts of Maharashtra, and is slightly different than this version I’m going to write about today.

Bataka wada – Raipur bhajia house style (Serves 4)

Ingredients

For the filling

1. Potatoes – 6
2. Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
3. Sugar – 2 tsp
4. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
5. Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
6. Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup
7. Green chillies – 6 to 8
8. Ginger – 2 inch piece
9. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Asafoetida – 1 pinch

For the batter

1. Besan – 1 cup
2. Rava – 1 tbsp
3. Salt to taste

Groundnut oil for frying

Method of preparation

1. Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker. Peel and mash them when cold.
2. Grind the ginger and chillies in a paste. Ginger is a key ingredient in this recipe. Be liberal while adding ginger.
3. Grind the coriander seeds roughly. Do not use a mixie, just roughly grind them with hand using the traditional stone or steel grinder.
4. Prepare the batter by slowly adding water to the besan, stirring continuously with a spoon. Mix the rava in 1 tsp oil and add to the batter. Add salt to taste and set it aside for 10-15 minutes.
5. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, ginger-chilly paste and the mashed potatoes. Add salt and sugar to taste. Mix well and prepare small balls for the filling.
6. Heat oil in a thick pottomed kadai for deep frying. When the oil is hot, take a tbsp of the hot oil and pour it in the batter. It will make a chhhshhh sound :). Dip the roundles in the batter and fry them carefully.
7. Serve with green chutney, sauce or any other chutney of your choice.

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