Bondas are a popular Indian snack made with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and spices, coated in gram flour and fried. They come in sweet and savory variations, with the savory version being the most popular. They can be filled with meat or hard-boiled eggs and are often kept in Indian homes for a quick snack. Sweet bondas are made with sugar and flour and are often served for breakfast. They are becoming more popular around the world due to their ease of making and endless flavor combinations.
Bondas are an Indian snack commonly sold by street vendors and also made in Indian homes to keep on hand for a snack. There are sweet and savory variations, but they’re commonly made by mixing cooked mashed potatoes with vegetables and spices, breading the mixture in gram flour, and frying them. The savory version is the most popular in much of India, although sweet, donut-like bondas are favored in southwestern India.
Savory bondas are typically spicy, although heat levels vary. The peeled and cooked potatoes are mixed with any variety of greens, diced chiles, and spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander. The mixture is then shaped into balls and rolled in gram flour or dipped in gram flour batter and fried in sunflower oil. Once the balls are a nice golden brown, they are removed from the oil and drizzled with fresh lime juice.
While cooked potatoes are the most common base for savory bondas, tapioca and sweet potatoes are also popular. It’s also common to add meat or hard-boiled eggs to the mixture before frying, making these already-filled snacks almost a full meal. In Maharashtra, a state in northern India, these snacks are usually formed into discs rather than balls.
Sweet bondas are usually made from a mixture of sugar, maida flour and baking soda which is brought together by a small amount of water. The dough is dropped by the spoonful into hot sunflower oil and is usually served immediately after baking. It is also common in southwestern India to add very ripe, mashed bananas to the batter and, in some cases, to season the bondas with sugar immediately after frying. These donut-shaped snacks, also commonly sold by street vendors, are eaten as a breakfast food.
These popular snacks, while considered “fast food” in India, are often kept in many Indian homes. Once fried and cooled, bondas will typically keep for up to a week when stored in an airtight container. Bondas are incredibly filling despite their size, and when proteins such as eggs or nuts are added, they can make a well-rounded light lunch or dinner. This inspires many residents of India to take bondas with them when traveling and keep a batch in the pantry.
Spicy or spicy, these bite-sized snacks are a common sight in India and are becoming more popular throughout the rest of the world. They are relatively easy to make and even easier to eat. This, coupled with the endless flavor combinations, makes bondas popular.
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