Does fritters with coconuts in them sound a tad different? Coming from a coastal city, where coconuts grow in abundance, this recipe shouldn’t be a surprise coming from my kitchen.It has been a while since I have shared any recipe from my home state. It is not that I do not like cooking our traditional food & not that I am unfamiliar with it, but every time I cook something traditional and something bespoke from my home town I feel disappointed.
It could be because I am used to such a wonderful medley of tastes of my regional cooking that I certainly fail to match up to that unique taste. I generally pass on the blame to the ingredients & the water and the locally available produce or maybe there is that magic in my mom’s cooking & in my mother in laws cooking that doesn’t seem to work through me. This attempt was certainly stepping out of my comfort zone and making a batch of these coconut fritters, or popularly known as nadia bara, following my mum’s advice and referring to a book PURBA :FEASTS FROM EAST that was quite inspiring.These are one of the many delicacies I look forward to each time I visit to my native place. I feast generously on these little disc shaped fritters so there is no regret left when I return back to my adopted home in Sydney.Odisha being a coastal state is blessed with an abundance of sunshine, Surf & coconut trees.
We have 4 massive heavily fruit laden trees in our own home. These trees are a simply a sight to adore & every part of this amazing tree comes handy to the locals. It is unimaginable to have amazing dishes from this adorable drupe -A unique combination of a seed, nut and a fruit. Coconut is creating magic in western world these days with an amazing range of innovative ideas & uses. Coconut yogurt is something I am hooked to apart from its oil. I am still trying to figure out how to work with its flour.
Coconut fritters or nadia bara is pure bliss with very few ingredients put together.With a chutney made of curry leaves, it becomes an irresistible snack in itself. There are many ways to cook these fritters. My mum adds a touch of sweetness to these fritters while my MIL adds a savoury twist to it. Isn’t that interesting ? I followed their advice and adapted it to my taste. I have added brown rice powder instead of the regular soaked rice. Also few teaspoons of roasted chickpea flour adds a bit of flavour and binds it well too. Fresh coconut is the key ingredient and it honestly doesn’t work as well if replaced with dry and desiccated varieties. I have used frozen fresh coconut to make these fritters to share with all of you.
Nadia Bara or Coconut fritters
- 2 cups fresh coconut grated or frozen thawed
- 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp cumin seeds / cumin powder
- 1 tbsp besan/ gram flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice powder
- 1 small onion chopped ( optional)
- 1 or 2 chillies diced
Mix everything in a bowl and add enough water to bind all the ingredients together, few tablespoons at a time. Season it with salt. Heat a flat pan and add few teaspoons of olive oil. Shape the fritter into round disc and shallow fry them on a medium fire. These patties soak quite a lot of oil. Cook on the both the sides until they are golden and crispy.
Serve with ketchup or curry leaves chutney.
To make Curry leaves Chutney
Dry roast the 3 cups of fresh curry leaves on a pan. Remove and blend with 1/2 cup roasted peanuts,1 tsp tamarind paste, chilies and 1tsp chopped ginger and water. Add salt to taste.
PIN IT FOR LATER
2 Comments
I have never had these!! But they sound yummy Shibani!! I would love to know about the sweet version too 🙂
They sound great and tasty. I think these will be perfect for evening snacks