Bajiya

🫘 Sixteen small coarse black-eyed-pea fritters with onion, garlic and spices, soaked and peeled before frying until cooked inside.

Ingredients

• 250 g dried black-eyed peas
• 60 g chopped onion
• 60 g firm tomato, seeded and drained
• 2 garlic cloves
• Small green chilli optional
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 3 g salt
• About 700 ml neutral oil for suitable deep-frying pan
• Drinking water for soaking and skins

Preparation

Soak peas in plenty of water in fridge six hours. Drain; soaking included in seven-hour total.

Rub or briefly crush soaked peas to loosen skins. Put in water and remove floating skins. Repeat with clean water as needed then drain very thoroughly.

Blend onion, drained tomato, garlic and optional chilli. Add peas, coriander, turmeric and salt; pulse into coarse mixture that holds. Do not add water or puree smooth.

Divide into sixteen pieces. With clean slightly wet hands make 5 cm discs about 1 cm thick with small central hole. Test one; if it breaks, grind mixture a little more.

Heat oil around 175 °C in stable pan at most half full. Fry four pieces at a time five to six minutes, turning, without smoking oil. Adjust and extend until fully cooked inside, without raw pea paste.

Drain on rack or suitable food paper, repeat four batches for sixteen pieces. Four per person; hot sauce separate. Never taste raw batter.