Dark, curry-leaf-scented ragi fritters with fennel and fine ribbons of onion, fried at a steady heat so the malt sweetens instead of scorching.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Ragi Flour 1 cup
Fresh
- Rice flour ⅓ cup
- Besan (gram flour) ⅓ cup
- Onions, sliced into fine ribbons 3 medium
- Curry leaves, torn 2 sprigs
- Fennel seeds, lightly crushed 1 tsp
- Green chillies, chopped 3
- Asafoetida ¼ tsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Coconut oil, for frying 500 ml
Method
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Scrunch the onions
Rub the onion ribbons with salt and crushed fennel between your palms until they go limp and slick. This is the only liquid the mixture gets.
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Add the flours
Sprinkle Sprouted Ragi Flour, rice flour and besan straight over the wet onions in three lots, tossing between each so every ribbon is coated rather than clumped.
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Fold in aromatics
Work in the curry leaves, green chilli and asafoetida. Squeeze a handful — it should hold together loosely and fall apart at a nudge.
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Set a steady heat
Heat the coconut oil to a moderate 165C. Ragi carries its own sugars and darkens fast, so a hot pan will blacken the outside long before the centre is done.
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Fry in small heaps
Drop loose heaps into the oil and leave them undisturbed for a minute to set, then turn. Fry six to seven minutes until the sizzle quietens.
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Drain and salt
Lift onto a rack, scatter a little more salt while the surface is still glossy, and eat within minutes of frying.
Why this works
Ragi is naturally malty and browns earlier than any other millet flour, so the fry runs cooler and longer than a standard pakora. Rice flour keeps the crust brittle where ragi alone would go dense, and the salted, scrunched onion supplies moisture gradually so the coating stays lacy rather than pasty.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Ragi Flour → Sprouted Bajra Flour Earthier and faintly bitter; keep the fennel.
- Coconut oil → Groundnut oil Cleaner flavour, higher smoke point, less coastal character.
- Fennel seeds → Cumin seeds Warmer and less sweet against the onion.
