Apple Fritters (Bajji)

I wouln't say this is the tastiest snack I have ever made, but if you have bought apples and they turn out to be sour and you don't feel like eating it as fruit, this is a good alternative.
This is paatti's recipe and she suggested it when I was bugging her for some idea for a snack this evening.

Ingredients:

1. Apple - 1
2. Besan - 1 cup
3. Rice flour - 1/2 cup
4. Cooking soda - a pinch
5. Asafoetida powder- a pinch
6. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp. or as per taste
7. Salt - as per taste
8. Oil - for frying ( around 5-6 tbsp)

Procedure:

1. Mix all ingredients except the apple and oil in a bowl, add water and mix to make a thick homogeneous batter ( pic 1). The batter must be thicker than idli batter. When u take it in a spoon and pour it, it should drop down in blobs and not smoothly like dosa batter. Cooking soda is optional. Paatti's tip: If you do not want to use cooking soda, you can add a tbsp. of dosa batter instead for the fermented effect.
2. Core the apple and cut it into semi circular discs (pic 2).
3. Heat oil in a kadai.
4. Dip the apple slices in the batter so that they are coated with a thin layer of batter all over and fry it in the oil on a medium flame. You can add 5-6 such pieces at a time ( pic 3).
5. Turn over and fry evenly till they turn golden brown.
6. Remove the fritters using a strainer, and place on a paper napkin to remove the excess oil ( pic 4).
7. Serve with imli chutney.

Experimental variation:
Try adding a pinch of cinnamon powder instead of asafoetida powder in the batter.

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4