Atte Bhajo/ Tapioca fritters, Kerala special

Hello dear readers! Today I’m going to share a recipe from Kerala cuisine. It is called as “Atte Bhajo” or Tapioca fritters. “Atto” means spider in Kerala Konkani , since it resembles like spider legs, the name “Atte Bhajo”… Tapioca is also called as ” Kappa” in Malayali.

I was first introduced to this dish by my sister Shanta Nayak. Shan says she had heard about this dish from our granny(AAyi) and our Calicut aunt Veenakka years back. Originally the dish is from Calicut and Tellicherry. Later she learn’t to prepare the bhajo from her Kerala friend in U.A.E ..  For a long time I had just heard the description of the dish but got to taste it last year. 

Santoshi makes it often ever since Shan has introduced it to us. Recently during our Ooty trip we picked some fresh Tapioca from the market along with other vegetables. We just went crazy seeing fresh vegetables in the Ooty market and carried back home as much as we could. 

Recipe and dish credit : Shanta Nayak and Santoshi Nayak

Ingredients:

Tapioca – 2

Curry leaves – few,chopped

Hing – 2 pinches

Chilly powder – 2tsp or to taste

Coriander seeds – crushed

Green chilly-  2 chopped

Rice flour – 3 tbsp

Besan – 2 tbsp or cornflour

Coriander leaves – handful, chopped

Oil – to deep fry

Method:

1. Peel the tapioca and wash it well.
2. Cut it into thin strips like that of finger chips.
3. Soak it in salted water 15- 20 minutes.
4. Drain the water and transfer it in a mixing bowl.
5. Apply all the ingredients except oil.
6. Coat it well.
7. Heat oil and drop 7 – 8 marinated tapioca  in hot oil.
8. Lower the flame and cook it for few minutes.
9. Later higher the flame and fry it until crisp.
10. Fry in batches.
11. Serve it hot.