Fried green tomatoes - Goes Indian!

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.



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