Spiced Lotus Roots/Peshawari Bhein:)

A Nita Mehta recipe that I follow to the T. It has carom seeds in it, that gives the dish a very different taste. It is made crisp enough to be eaten on its own, or with anything you like:)

Lotus Roots/Bhein - 250 grams

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 4-5 flakes

Green Chillies - 2 (optional)

Carom Seeds/Ajwain - 1/2 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Curd/Yoghurt - 1 tbsp

Salt

Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp

Whole Wheat Flour - 2 tbsps

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Raw Mango Powder/Aamchur Powder - 1/4 tsp

Cut the lotus roots into round slices, the ones you find in the supermarket here is quite thick, so I have further cut each rounds (generally keep them in bite-sized pieces). Put them in salted water and boil till done. It should be slightly crunchy and JUST DONE, not overcooked. Once cooked, drain the water and keep them aside. Grind together ginger, garlic, green chillies and carom seeds. Marinate the bhein with this paste, along with yoghurt and red chilly powder (you can omit the green chillies in the ground paste since we add red chilly powder here, all depends on your taste and how much spicy you want it to be). Keep aside for 30 mins. Heat oil, add whole wheat flour(atta) into the oil, stir vigorously to avoid lumps. As it changes colour, add the marinated bhein. Cook till the moisture in it gets evaporated. Add some garam masala and raw mango powder and keep stir frying, drizzling oil if need be. The final product should be crunchy/crispy.