Desi Oliebollen

So here is the recipe. I would like to classify this recipe of mine as fusion food because it involves ingredients of a local dish and preparation of a desi snack called meethe pakode.

Ingredients

500 gms Oliebollen flour (The one which says - Only water to be added)
100 gms fine crystal or powdered sugar
30 gms saunf (aniseed, aka fennel seeds)
50 gms raisins (optional)
150 ml water (See gotchas)
Oil for frying

Preparation

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl. Leave atleast 50-100 gms flour aside for disaster recovery :)

2. Put water and mix well so that there are no lumps. Leave mixture for 10 minutes (It will ferment and will become sticky and thin). If it feels very thin add some more flour to it and mix to bring it to a proper consistency.

3. Once the oil is at frying temperature, drop in the pakodes using an ice-cream scoop.

If you do not have an ice-cream scoop, two spoons can be used as the next best option.

4. Let the meethe pakode fry for 6 -7 minutes or until Golden brown and then remove on an absorbant paper.

5. Enjoy Desi Oliebollen.

Gotchas (What can go wrong)

• Do not add too much water initially as the mixture ferments after some time.
• If the mixture is to thin, it will not cook well.
• Make sure the balls or pakodes are OK (2 bites) sized. If it is too big it will not cook fromm inside.
• The instructions on the flour packet said, fry at 190 deg Centigrade. If you use the regular kadhai, make sure the flame is low or else the pakodas will burn.
• Keep on turning the pakodas frequently or else if fried more on side it would be difficult to turn them the other side because the dough settles on the fried side making it heavier. This results in a pakoda fried on one side and not so well fried on the other.
• There are some variations of Oliebollen flour available in the super market which require eggs to be added to the mixture. Avoid those.
  

Variations

• Add Kajoo to the mixture
• Add some orange food color to the dough
• Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of desi oliebollen

Notes
One can store the desi oliebollen at room temperature in a dabba and they can be even had after a week. Since they last long, you can make lots of them for the entire week.