Kara boondi is a crispy and simple deep fried besan(chickpea flour) snack made during occasions like Diwali. Learn the process of making it crisp and perfect with the help of pictures and video.
To make kara Boondi we need a special boondi ladle(wider in size and spacious holes) or a normal perforated ladle. For beginners, if you can get a boondi ladle, please go for it. It is easy and mess-free. Look at my Tamilnadu style Mixture recipe which is a mix of Boondis, omapodi, aval, fried gram, peanuts and curry leaves. In that recipe, I have shown the traditional boondi ladle which I got from my native. In the mixture recipe, while making boondi, to match the omapodi, I use just a tbsp of rice flour and here in the karaa boondi mixture recipe, we use almost 1/4th rice flour to the chickpea flour.
Points to note to get the perfect Kara boondi mixture:
- Here in this Kara boondi recipe, I have shown making boondis with a normal perforated ladle. We need two such ladles, one for making boondis and another to collect them. And before every turn, after making boondis, wipe the back of the ladle. This helps to remove cooked flour stuck to the bottom of the ladle which prevents the next round of properly shaped boondis. Also, make sure to keep the ladle above the oil at safe distance. This prevents the oil from burning the batter stuck to the ladle.
- In addition to the ladle, we need a few other points to keep in mind to make perfect empty spheres with uncompromising crispness. First, the consistency of the batter. Always add water gradually and slowly while mixing the batter. The boondi batter should be slightly thinner than the bajji batter. It should be easy flowing without lumps. Sieving flour before mixing helps a lot.
- Next use freshly bought or made chickpea flour (gram flour). And do not use the coarsely ground one. We need finely ground smooth flour to get crispy kara Boondi.
- Lastly do not crowd the oil full of batter. The boondis while frying in hot oil tend to enlarge in size. To prevent them from sticking to each other, do not crowd and leave them untouched for a minute atleast. Let the initial sizzling settle down before stirring.
- To end with, tailed boondis mean the batter is thick to flow through the holes. Add a tbsp of water and try until you get it right. Likewise, flat boondis mean batter is thin and add a tsp of flour to the batter to correct it.
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For beginners, stepwise pictures with explanations are available below the recipe card.
Kara boondi | Crispy Kaara boondi | Boondi mixture
Kara boondi is a crispy and simple deep fried besan(chickpea flour) snack made during occasions like Diwali.
Equipment
- Deep fry pan
- Perforated ladle(boondi ladle)
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Besan flour Chickpea/Gram
- ½ cup Rice flour
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- 1 ¼ cup Water 1 or 2tbsp extra
- Oil to deep fry
Seasoning:
- 1 tbsp Ghee/Oil
- 2 tbsp Groundnuts
- 1 tbsp Cashews
- 1 pinch Asafoetida
- 6 Garlic pods crushed with skin
- ¼ cup Curry leaves
- 1 tsp Chilli powder as per taste
Instructions
Preparation:
- Measure and sieve the besan/gram flour. Keep it ready.
- Start heating up oil for frying the boondis. If you are a beginner worried about overheating the oil, you can keep the stove in medium heat while we prepare the batter.
Recipe:
- Take a large mixing bowl, add the besan flour first.
- Next add rice flour, asafoetida, salt and baking soda.
- Mix all dry things roughly. Add water gradually and start mixing the boondi batter.
- Two cups of my gram flour took around one cup of water. The batter should be like bajji batter slightly thinner than that. It should be runny yet should form ribbons like this.
- Meanwhile, the oil should be hot enough by this time.
How to fry crispy kara boondi:
- Check the heat status of oil with a single drop of batter. The oil should be really hot enough to bring up that batter drop instantly without burning. This is the ideal temperature for most of the South Indian fried snack recipes.
- Now hold the boondi ladle or perforated ladle on top of oil(keep a safe distance) and pour one ladle full of batter. If you use a huge frying pan, you can add one more ladle full of batter. Take decisions based on the size of your pan. I added only once at a time. See the pearls falling and you could see the high temperature of the oil with this sizzling picture. This is the right temperature to fry boondis. Please watch the video for a clear understanding.
- Do not overcrowd. This is an important point to note as boondis will stick to each other if crowded.
- The droplets sizzle and fry and float on top of the oil.
- Fry the boondis until crisp. It takes around full 3 to 4 minutes to become crispy. Stir them once to get them evenly fried.
- When the bubbles settle and boondis become a golden color, use another slotted spoon/ladle to take out the boondis.
- Repeat the same for other batches. Collect the boondis in kitchen tissue.
- Switch off the stove.
Seasoning kara boondi:
- In another frying pan heat a tbsp of ghee or oil.
- Add 2 tbsp dried groundnuts and fry them in medium heat for two to three minutes. If the peanuts are already fried, reduce the frying time to seconds.
- Next, add 1 tbsp of cashew pieces and fry along with groundnuts. Put a lavish pinch of asafoetida.
- Add 6 crushed garlic pods. Use garlic cloves with full skin on. When you crush garlic with skin it gives a burst of flavor.
- Garlic is an optional ingredient.
- Also, fry two sprigs of fresh curry leaves. Meanwhile, be careful not to over-brown the nuts. You can reduce the heat to keep it in control. Switch off.
- Finally, add a tsp of chilli powder and mix it with other ingredients. The chilli powder will be cooked in the retained heat of the pan.
- Take the fried boondis in a deep bowl.
- Add the fried items and mix well.
- Toss the boondis to mix properly.
- Serve the crispy kara boondi as a tea time snack. Store in a tight container to retain the crispness.
Video
Notes
Tips:
1) You can use some turmeric powder along with chilli powder for extra color.
2) The temperature of the oil should be right to get crispy kara boondis. Hence check the temperature before each batch and wait for the oil come to correct heat.
1) You can use some turmeric powder along with chilli powder for extra color.
2) The temperature of the oil should be right to get crispy kara boondis. Hence check the temperature before each batch and wait for the oil come to correct heat.
Nutrition
Calories: 200kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Preparation:
- Measure and sieve the besan/gram flour. Keep it ready.
- Start heating up oil for frying the boondis. If you are a beginner worried about overheating the oil, you can keep the stove in medium heat while we prepare the batter.
Recipe:
- Take a large mixing bowl, add the besan flour first. Next add rice flour, asafoetida, salt and baking soda.
- Mix all dry things roughly. Add water gradually and start mixing the boondi batter.
- Two cups of my gram flour took around one cup of water. The batter should be like bajji batter slightly thinner than that. It should be runny yet should form ribbons like this.
- Meanwhile, the oil should be hot enough by this time. You can also start heating the oil after mixing the batter.
How to fry crispy kara boondi:
- Check the heat status of oil with a single drop of batter. The oil should be really hot enough to bring up that batter drop instantly without burning. This is the ideal temperature for most of the South Indian fried snack recipes.
- Now hold the boondi ladle or perforated ladle on top of oil(keep a safe distance) and pour one ladle full of batter. If you use a huge frying pan, you can add one more ladle full of batter. Decide based on the size of your pan. I added only once at a time. See the pearls falling and you could see the high temperature of the oil with this sizzling picture. This is the right temperature to fry boondis. Please watch the video for a clear understanding.
- Do circular motion and do not overcrowd. This is an important point to note as boondis will stick to each other if crowded.
- The droplets sizzle and fry and float on top of the oil.
- Fry the boondis until crisp. It takes around full 3 to 4 minutes to become crispy. Stir them once to get them evenly fried.
- When the bubbles settle and boondis become a golden color, use another slotted spoon/ladle to take out the boondis.
- Repeat the same for other batches. Collect the boondis in kitchen tissue.
- Switch off the stove.
Seasoning kara boondi:
- In another frying pan heat a tbsp of ghee or oil. Add 2 tbsp dried groundnuts and fry them in medium heat for two to three minutes. If the peanuts are already fried, reduce the frying time to seconds.
- Next, add 1 tbsp of cashew pieces and fry along with groundnuts. Put a lavish pinch of asafoetida. Add 6 crushed garlic pods. Use garlic cloves with full skin on. When you crush garlic with skin it gives a burst of flavor. Garlic is an optional ingredient.
- Also, fry two sprigs of fresh curry leaves. Meanwhile, be careful not to over-brown the nuts. You can reduce the heat to keep it in control. Switch off.
- Finally, add a tsp of chilli powder and mix it with other ingredients. The chilli powder will be cooked in the retained heat of the pan.
- Take the fried boondis in a deep bowl. Add the fried items and mix well.
- Toss the boondis to mix properly. Serve the crispy kara boondi as a tea time snack. Store in a tight container to retain the crispness.
Tips:
1) You can use some turmeric powder along with chilli powder for extra color.
2) The temperature of the oil should be right to get crispy kara boondis. Hence check the temperature before each batch and wait for the oil to come to the correct heat.
