Punugulu | Bondas with Dosa batter | Dosa batter Fritters

I prefer bonda (rice based fritters) over pakoras (chickpea flour based) but I don't make both on a regular basis. My mom used to prepare several varieties of bonda and as such pakoras used to find less favor as my dad wasn't fond of the (chickpea) flour that is used in preparing them . Mirch(chilli) fritters was though an exception. We also used to like the sour taste of bondas. Its the complete opposite at my in-laws place as they are more fond of chickpea flour based fritters , which they prepare at least twice a week - its actually quite common in North India because of the colder weather during winters. Hot chick pea fritters and tea especially during rains is just awesome , as per my hubby. I usually don't prefer eating deep fried items that frequently , so this concept of having fritters that often was initially difficult for me to comprehend.On another note , my hubby just reminded me that my MIL can turn any vegetable to a fritter. Enough of pakoras for today , I guess - let me keep it for some other post.

Coming back to today's post,we generally prepare these bondas with left over dosa batter which turns sour after 2-3 days,bondas usually taste better with a sour batter. If the bondas are prepared with freshly made batter (with no fermentation) they are called 'Punugulu', a famous road side snack in Vijayawada and few Coastal districts of Andhra.You don't need to add anything while making them apart from salt for taste.
This version which I am posting today is ideally prepared during festivals to go along with afternoon meal. As we do not use onions during festivals, we generally replace with soaked moong dal and tiny coconut pieces which adds a nice taste to these bondas.There are no hard rules in preparing these bondas,the addition of quantities of ingredients is purely left to suit your taste buds.I have also mentioned various variations in the recipe,please feel free to follow them and enjoy these hot bondas as an evening snack with tea or in a festival lunch as I usually do.
Punugulu | Bonda with Dosa batter:
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
2 cups left over dosa batter(fresh or fermented)
3-4 tbsp Rice flour
2-3 tbsp Moong dal,soaked for an hour
3-4 tbsp tiny pieces of fresh Coconut or 1 medium Onion,finely chopped
1-2 tsp Green chili paste(to suit your taste)
2 tsp finely chopped Curry leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped Coriander
a fat pinch of cooking Soda
Salt to taste
Method:

• Let the dosa batter comes to a room temperature.
• Add rice flour to it and mix well and leave it aside for 5 mins.Feel free to add an extra tbsp of rice flour or sooji(rawa) to the batter to make it slightly thick.The consistency should be thicker as Idli batter and have dropping consistency.
• Add soaked and drained moong dal,tiny pieces of fresh coconut(or finely chopped onion),green chili paste,chopped curry leaves,chopped coriander and required salt and mix well.
• Add a fat pinch of soda to a tsp of water and mix well and mix in the batter until well mixed.
• Mean while heat oil in a thick kadai over medium flame.
• Drop a spoonful of batter using a spoon or hand.We your finger in between for easy dropping of batter.
• Drop 6-8 at a time and fry them over medium flame for 2 mins and turn them over and fry them until they turn golden brown and crisp.

Serve them hot with coconut chutney or tomato sauce/chutney or as they are.
Notes:

1. You can prepare these bondas with fresh dosa batter(before or after immediate fermentation) pr 2-3 day old batter which turned sour.All these variations taste nice and also have different taste.I personally like the one when prepared with sour batter.
2. You can add a couple of tbsp of rawa to the batter which gives a crisp bondas.In that case leave the batter aside for an hr and proceed with the same above mentioned process.
3. You can even prepare these bondas with the batter which is prepared for sukkinunde/boorelu/poornalu.
   

Variations:

1. As I prepared these bondas during festival I added soaked moong dal and coconut pieces.If you are preparing them on any regular day add finely chopped onions to it which gives a nice crunch in between.
2. You can even add soaked and drained sago(1/4 cup) to the batter instead of soaked moong dal and you can add either coconut pieces or chopped onions to it along with sago as both goes well.