Definitely a fan favorite, you can find piyajus at iftar tables all over Bangladesh.

Super crispy and flavorful lentil and onion fritters that will have you craving more every time!

Tips for the crispiest Piyaju:

1. Make sure to drain your soaked daal for 30 minutes before blending/making the piyaju mixture. You don’t want too much moisture in the batter
2. Don’t overdo the corn starch/besan (gram flour). While it may be easier to handle and form the boras/fritters with more, it will make the batter thick and it will be more soft and squishy inside. You want to have minimal batter holding the mixture together. Just enough for everything to stick together.
3. Press your bora/fritter to a flat disk for crispiness all throughout.
4. You don’t need to shape your boras perfectly, the more rustic edges turns into super crispy and crunchy bits once fried
5. Use a lot of onions. I use 2 cups of finely sliced onions for 1 cup of dry daal (which doubles in size after soaking). You want the mixture to be mostly the solids held together by a very light batter.
6. Once fried, drain the fritters on a wire rack instead of paper towels. This allows the steam to escape without making the underside of the boras soft while it sits. You can gently pat them with a paper towel after if you really want to remove more oil from the outside layer.

Variations

You can make this recipe with any kind of vegetables you want really, it doesn’t have to be just onions. Slice your veggies into thin sticks or grate them with a larger size grater. I use 2 cups of onions in this recipe so you can substitute however much of those you want with other veggies.

Some options are zucchini, potato, sweet potato, kale, spinach, carrots, cauliflower, etc.

You can watch the full process in this video!

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 cup dry masoor daal (split red lentils)
• 2 cup red onion (finely sliced)
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
• 4 green chilis (finely sliced)
• 1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)
• 1/4 cup corn starch or rice flour (+1-2 tbsp if needed)
• vegetable oil (for frying)

INSTRUCTIONS 

Wash your daal until the water runs clear, then soak for 4 hours.

Drain your daal for 30 minutes. Prep the rest of your ingredients during this time.

Once fully drained, reserve half of your soaked daal, and blend the other half into a fine paste.

Add all your ingredients into a bowl. Mix everything very well. If the batter is too loose you can add a couple extra tbsp of corn starch/besan. The batter will look like it won’t hold in general.

Heat your oil on medium, test if the oil is hot by dropping in a bit of the mixture, it should hit the bottom then bubble up in a second or two.

Scoop up small balls of the mixture, about 1-2 tablespoons worth. Flatten it with your thumb on your palms.

Then push your thumb under the mixture gently to loosen.

Flip it over while pushing underneath with your thumb, and your piyaju should fall into the oil and still stay intact. You can also use a spoon or spatula for this to make it safer.

If your boras/fritters are breaking apart, you need to be more gently when putting them into the oil, or you may need to add some more cornflour/besan in your mixture to make it hold.

The piyaju will stick to the bottom then float up. Once golden, flip them over with a fork a few times until both sides are nice and light golden brown, about 8 minutes total.

Strain and let the oil drain on a wire rack while you fry the rest.

Serve hot, and enjoy!