Bhajias - East African Version!

 

Bhajias or Bhajis/Pakoras came to East Africa (specifically Kenya and Tanzania for this post) from India thanks to colonialisation, trade and migration.  We adapted them and made them our own. Here are some variations of bhajias that I like to make. All vegetarian friendly but deep fried so you may want to burn off the calories the next day.

Potato Bhajias

Sometimes referred to as Maru bhajias (Kenya). These are thinly round sliced potatoes coated in seasoned gram flour (chickpea flour) batter; I like to season mine with salt, cumin seeds, coriander leaves, cayenne pepper and sometimes turmeric. You simply coat the potatoes in the batter and deep fry. This recipe also works well for sturdy vegetables like aubergines, cauliflowers, courgettes, onions, sweet peppers etc. Simply slice the vegetable if it needs slicing or coat it whole if it doesn’t require slicing in seasoned gram flour and fry.

Here’s a link (Kenyan Maru Bhajia) and link (Indian aloo bhajii) to a recipe you can follow. Served with a chutney or salsa of your choice

Potato Bhajias

Courgette/Zucchini Bhajias

Bhajia za Kunde (Cow pea/Black eyed pea fritters)

These are exactly as the name suggests. Somewhere in the Indian sub continent these are called Lobia Vada/Alasanda Vada. If you are West African these are like rough ground Akara because the recipe is similar; soak cow peas/black eyed peas overnight or for at least 10 hours or more if you have the time. Grind them; add spices of your choice and fry major difference is these are ground to a rough finish not smooth like Akara. You may or may not choose to remove the skins it really doesn’t make much of a difference to me. For these ones I added chopped red onions, ginger paste, coriander leaves, red chillies and salt.  Traditionally these were ground using a good old mortar and pestle which I still use if I am making a small quantity and need an arm workout, otherwise you can just use an electric grinder. I say grinder as opposed to blender because with a blender you would need to add water which you will have to strain because otherwise the mixture will be runny, I prefer to use a grinder much easier.  Just drain all the water before grinding. To the western world these are similar to Middle Eastern Falafel. The major difference is that Falafel is made with chickpeas in the Middle East.  I also suspect that in addition to India, Middle Eastern traders who plied the trade route between the Middle East and the East coast of Africa and ended up settling in East Africa may also have contributed to the adaptation of this dish in East Africa. If you make them bigger, they make for a great sandwich filling.  Here’s a link (East African) and link (Indian) to a recipe you can follow.

With skins peeled

With unpeeled skins

Bhajia za Dengu (Chickpea fritters)

These are made using gram flour (which is basically chickpea flour). In the regional name varieties found in India these would be called Pakoras/Pakodas but in East Africa we call them all bhajias and specify which variety it is. In Trinidad and Guyana these would be similar to Pholourie. A batter is made using gram flour, water and whatever else you want to put in them and then deep fried. I added chopped red onions, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, paprika. dried chillies and salt to these ones. Most times I also like to add mashed/chopped pre boiled potatoes to the mix and then fry. You can add baking powder or yeast to help them rise if you want puffy ones. These also make for a great sandwich filling. Here’s a link (East African) and another link (Indian) to a recipe you can follow.

These come out in all types of shapes and textures depending on the ingredients

And a bonus video with several bhajia recipes;

 

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