September 16, 2008

Fried green tomatoes - Goes Indian!

First
Tomatoes

Of course this is not fried! ... so those of you who came looking for some unhealthy greasy "bajji" stuff on my blog, bummer!
If you read on, I might have a chance to explain how this is done, and how it does not compromise on taste at all (if you have tasted the original FGT, if not... don't even bother thinking about originality!)

I didn't know what to do with Green tomatoes, I was so not looking for them.
I stumbled upon them at a local farm, picked them from a little vine thinking it would turn red one fine day. The worst part... I stashed it in the fridge and it never did!
A little rewind... after I picked the tomatoes the girl at the counter looks at me perplexed, and asks me what I was going to do with green tomatoes. (Psst... I am thinking she wanted to share the knowledge that she had about those greenies)
And clueless as I was, I bluntly replied that I had no idea. That was all she needed, and she started to explain how I could pickle them (pickle as in vinegar pickle, not the Indian one), or I could make fried green tomatoes.
I with my new found knowledge, humbly tugged my bag and left. Oh yeah, I paid her.

I am not that big on pickling things with vinegar. So, I was pretty much stuck with fried green tomatoes.
Another crisis, frying! That is not going to happen now, is it?
And there was born the idea of just pan frying them with a little oil. The end result was something I had never tasted before, very interesting texture and flavor with the tomatoes, and all in all it was a wonderful snack.
Since it was not deep fried, the tomato slices kind of has a sandwiched effect. Very pretty to look at.

Disclaimer:) I am not against fried food. I believe that anything in moderation is the way to go, but moderating unhealthy food everyday might become challenging, and hence I try to reserve the fried goodies for once-in-a-while.


Fried green tomatoes

Green tomatoes - 3 medium
Cornmeal flour - 1 cup (the regular cornmeal is coarse and making a batter out of it would be difficult)
Chick pea flour (Besan) - 2 cups
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Salt - To taste
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - A pinch
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - To bring the batter together
Light olive oil - A few tablespoons as and when you need it (Remember we are not frying it)

Method:

Slice the raw green tomatoes into half-inch thick slices.

In a mixing bowl, add all the rest of the ingredients with a little water and make it into a nice not too thick/thin batter.

In a non stick pan, bring about 2-3 tbsp of oil to medium-high heat.

Dunk in the slices one by one into the batter, and drop them in the pan. You can see how much oil I have used in the picture below.

When one side is golden brown, flip to the other side and add oil "if" needed.

When it is done, lift off the pan, and let it cool and serve.

In pan last
Last
This is off to EasyCraft's WYF: Salad/Starter/Soups Event
And Lore's Original recipe event

31 comments:

  1. Wow.. Really fantatic... new for me.. looks yummy & awesome...nice colour...thxs for sharing..

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  2. Love it...bajji with a twist...looks really good :)

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  3. Innovative recipe. Really a nice twist to bhaji. Looks gr8.

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  4. Love reading ur post Div and i cannot believe it is not deep fried:) Great way to eat without guilt :) Keep it up Div!

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  5. The last picture in which you have cut in half , made my mouth really drool.
    I was surprised to read they were not deep fried.
    Hurray for the non stick pan.

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  6. these make a good evening snack! lovely picture.. and No dear i havent tried oprah's pizza crust recipe yet.. will definately try it if its made of whole wheat :) thanks for telling me know abt it..

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  7. Sounds interesting recipe.. good entry.

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  8. looks awesome Divya. I had no clue something NOT deep fried could look so good!! or even there was a way to do it. I have to try this technique...

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  9. thatz awesome ... lovely snack .. am surely gonna try this .. do u mean raw tomatoes?? ....

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  10. these look really good! : )

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  11. looks nice. and delicious..

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  12. This is real gud...it does look like bajji but not deep fried is added advantage ofcourse :)...nice one

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  13. Fabulous idea Divya - these looks yum.

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  14. Wow..These look very much like deep fried ones..A great idea Divya..And I like your way of writing!

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  15. fried green tomatoes are a gr8 idea.. like you said, even I have never cooked with green tomatoes. Will try this one!!
    Btw, am here for the first time and I must say.. you have a nice blog!! :)

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  16. new recipe i never thought of tomato frying and colur looks great

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  17. hi divya
    thanks for visiting my blog.
    Fried green tomato is really an innovative attempt... looks so yummy..

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  18. Thank you for a "healthier" version of fried tomatoes! Will definitely try this! :)

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  19. Thanks for a healthy recipe, Divya. I am going to try with other vegetables too.

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  20. Bummer! It's not deep-fried! Just kidding Divya! You have done a great job in creating a guilt-free snack that satisfies the taste buds. The fried green tomatoes look so mouth-watering. I am definitely going to try this.

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  21. Interesting recipe. Nice Pictures.

    Something for u in my blog.

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  22. Green tomato Bhajji...This is something i wud love to try, Only if I can find them in the local store here.

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  23. Hey these look very nice and innovative. Never thought of dunking green tomatoes into bajji mixture. The bonus being them shallow fried. Kudos :-)

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  24. Looks so well browned despite not being deep fried.

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  25. This is a really nice recipe Divya. I love the idea of eating some bhajiyas and yet not taking in as much fat!! But the idea of the event was to have an end product that is green.

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  26. Lovely snack! We make bajis with ripe toamtoes but this healthier version is definitley a must-try! And u can make dal with the green tomatoes. They taste wonderful with moondal and little onion. Search for "thakkali kaai kootu" and thats u're recipe!

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  27. Hi Divya,
    Forgot to tell you that if you'd like to go ahead and submit this recipe to Original Recipes please use the event's badge just like you did on your previous entries so that everyone will know. Thanks!

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  28. What a cute and wonderful post Divya! I have been wanting to try fried green tomatoes, ever since I saw the movie ... now if only I can find me these beauties :D

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  29. Thats a cool n unique idea...thanks for participating

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  30. What a wonderful recipe! In the beginning I was wondering , how one coulds fry tomatoes! Lovely! Would have loved to try some with my home gown tomatoes (just used them all up to make a chutney I'll be writing about soon) :)

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  31. First time on your blog. Very creative recipe. Never thought tomato can be turned into a snack :-)

    Anitha

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I will try to respond to queries as soon as I can. If I miss anything that needs to be addressed... please feel free to ping me again.
Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)