It is a well-known teatime fact that India and its many, many cuisines have no dearth of crispy outside soft inside sort of snacks. In fact, from samosas to pakodas, most popular snacks recipes from North India are typically crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. But when you move further towards the Southern part of India, these snacks recipes turn into those for vadas and Bondas. One such amazing teatime snack from the state of Tamil Nadu is Vellam Bonda.
In case you weren’t aware, Bondas are a whole range of round-shaped and deep-fried snacks from South India, typically from Tamil Nadu. While Karnataka is more well-known for its Ullunda Bonda or lentil and coconut Bonda from Mysore and the Udupi regions, the same type of snack in Andhra Pradesh is known as Poornalu. Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions of Bonda snacks are popular across all the South Indian states, but Vellam Bonda captures the essence of Tamil vegetarian cooking.
Vellam Bondas are prepared with ripe bananas, which add a whole lot of sweetness to the snack. The flours used are whole wheat flour and rice flour, though the latter is usually added to give Vellam Bonda snacks a crunchy texture. The batter for Vellam Bonda is made with the addition of molten jaggery and water, and the entire snack is flavoured with dry ginger powder and cardamoms.
Video Credit: YouTube/Shruti's Cooking Channel
Traditionally, Vellam Bonda snacks are deep fried until crunchy and golden brown like gulab jamuns. However, given that most people are now looking for healthier cooking methods, Vellam Bonda can be easily air fried too. Want to check out the recipe? Read on and give these Vellam Bonda snacks a try.
Ingredients:
2 large ripe bananas
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup rice flour
¾ cup jaggery
½ cup water
¼ tsp dry ginger powder
¼ tsp cardamom powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
Oil, for frying 
Method:
1. Peel the bananas, place them in a bowl and mash them properly until no lumps remain.
2. Place the whole wheat flour, rice flour, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix well until everything is well-combined.
4. Now, place the jaggery in a large pot and turn on the heat.
5. Cook the jaggery on a low to medium flame while stirring until it turns into a consistent liquid.
6. Pour the liquid jaggery onto the flour mix, add the bananas and mix well.
7. Now gradually add the water to make a very thick, doughy paste.
8. Heat oil in a large wok.
9. Once the oil is hot, shaped the dough into equal-sized balls and put them in.
10. Deep fry the Vellam Bonda until golden brown like gulab jamuns on all sides.
11. Remove from the oil, place on a kitchen towel to drain any excess oil.
12. Alternatively, you can also make the dough a bit thicker, shape it into balls, brush with a bit of oil and air fry for 10 minutes at 150 degrees.
13. Serve the Vellam Bonda hot with tea or coffee.
