Many of the Indin tea-time snacks are deep-fried. When I adopted a WFPB lifestyle several years ago, evening snacks became a real problem since I use no oil. It took quite a bit of experimentation to come up with tasty recipes that are not deep-fried. My air fryer was a real boon in this context. One of the snacks that is a particular favourite is kunukku. This is usually made with the batter of adai (rice and lentil pancake). Please refer to the breakfast section of this blog for the adai recipe. The only difference is that adai uses a batter that is of spreading consistency whereas kunukku has to be slightly thicker. It is therefore best to prepare a thick batter suitable for kunukku. And add a little water to this batter in case adai needs to be prepared.

Ingredients
250 gms red or brown rice
50 gms split black gram (urad dal, ulutham parupu)
50 gms Bengal gram (chana dal, kadalai parupu)
2-3 dried red chillies
A pinch of asafoetida (hing, perunkayam)
1 sprig curry leaves|
1 tbsp coconut pieces (cut into small bits)
Salt to taste
Method
Wash and soak the rice for 12 hours (overnight)
Wash and soak the lentils for 1 hour
Combine both and add red chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves and salt
Transfer to a blender and grind to a thick, coarse paste sprinkling a little water
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add coconut bits
Mix well
Pinch small portions and place in a steamer
Repeat till all the batter is used up
Steam for 5-7 minutes
Transfer to the air fryer and ‘fry’ for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan in-between so that all sides are well ‘fried’
When the fritters are golden brown, remove from the fryer
Serve hot with your favourite dip
Enjoy!