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
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| Potato Bhajias |
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| 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.
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| With skins peeled |
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| 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.
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| 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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