A Rainy Evening: Peyaji and Chae

Chae and Pakoda

For the first time this year Lake Gardens has been flooded by the rains.Its exactly mid September and almost the fag end of monsoon but looks like the weather Gods have something else planned in their minds!.It rained cats and dogs for some 45 mins in the afternoon but the water logged streets are not showing any signs of receding.But this evening I hardly had a choice.I needed to visit the local groceries store to pick up some essential items.And once I was near the store, then I thought why not pick up a Cauliflower and have some Cauliflower Pakoda and enjoy it with Chae(Tea).The wife too would love it especially Pakodas and steaming hot tea in a rainy weather feels awesome.

But September being Cauliflower "off season" I didnt find any. So, when I returned home and was telling the wife what I had in my mind, she suggested we can have some Peyaji and Chae.And what was it.

We loved the deep fried peyaji and chae and made the rainy evening even more beautiful.
For those unaware, Peyaji is the Bengali version of Onion pakodas.Its ingredients are minimal - Onion, Green Chilies, Besan but its a
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 medium sized.Cut into longitudinal slices.
• Besan(Gram flour) - 6 heaped tb sp
• Green chillies - 3.Cut into small pieces.
• Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp.
• Salt - To taste
• Mustard Oil for deep frying

This should make 6 Peyajisof medium size.

Preparation
Make a batter with the ingredients 1-5 together along with a little amount of water until it binds well.Keep aside for 30 mins.How to know that the binding is strong? Pick some portion of the mixture and the mixture should stick together.

Cooking Procedure:

• Heat the mustard oil in a pan.
• Turn the oven to low.
• Take some amount of the batter, keeping in mind the size of the pakoda, and deep fry in the mustard oil.
• Fry each pakoda for 6-8 mins until the pakoda becomes crunchy and reddish in colour.
• Put the pakoda in a tissue paper until the oil drains off.
• Enjoy with steaming hot tea.