Aloo Bonda Recipe (Potato Bonda)

Aloo Bonda happens to be one of our all-time favorite potato snacks. Hence, also referred to as Potato Bonda, it is nothing but super yummy snack of spiced mashed potatoes, formed into a ball, covered in a gram flour (besan) batter and deep-fried to perfection. The ingredient list may be a bit long, but the Aloo Bonda Recipe is not that difficult to make. It is also not just a filling vegetarian dish but also is vegan-friendly.

About Aloo Bonda Recipe

If you are well versed with the popular Maharashtrian Batata Vada, then this Aloo Bonda is the South Indian version of the same.

‘Aloo’ is your staple vegetable, potato and the word ‘bonda’ translates to a round fritter resembling a ball. Since the appearance of this dish looks like a ball, hence, the name.

To make Aloo Bonda, first the potatoes are cooked and later mashed. To the mashed potatoes, a mix of sautéed onions, spices, herbs and seasonings are added.

After thoroughly mixing the ingredients, medium-sized balls are made from the spiced potato mixture. These balls are coated in a gram flour batter which are then deep fried to a golden perfection.

In the recipe I have included onions and garlic. You can make a no onion, no garlic version of the Aloo Bonda by just skipping these 2 ingredients from the recipe.

Serve this potato bonda with an earthy coconut chutney, Tomato Chutney or coriander chutney. A cup of hot Ginger Tea will also go well with them.

Aloo Bonda vs Batata Vada

Although the Aloo Bonda Recipe has similarities in terms of texture, looks and mouth-feel, with the Batata Vada of the Maharashtrian cuisine, the major difference lies in the spices and herbs used in the mashed potato mixture.

Also, in the South Indian bonda, rice flour along with gram flour is added in the batter. Whereas in the vada from Maharashtra, rice flour is usually not added in the batter.

How to make Aloo Bonda

Make Potato Stuffing

1. First boil 4 to 5 medium size potatoes. Then, peel and mash them while still warm.

You could boil the potatoes in a stovetop pressure cooker, instant pot or in a pan on the stovetop adding water as needed.

2. Heat 1 to 1.5 tablespoons oil in a frying pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 or 1.5 teaspoons urad dal.

Allow the mustard seeds to splutter and the urad dal to turn golden on low to medium-low heat.

3. Add about ⅓ cup finely chopped onions and sauté until they are translucent and softened.

4. Now, add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, 12 to 15 curry leaves and 1 or 2 finely chopped green chilies. Sauté for a minute.

5. Add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) and stir.

6. Next, add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and salt as required and stir.

7. Add the sautéed mixture to the mashed potatoes in the bowl.

8. Mix well. If there is moisture in the mashed potatoes, then you can sauté the potato mixture for a few minutes in the pan.

Add ⅓ to ½ teaspoon lemon juice and mix well. Lemon juice is optional and can be omitted from the recipe.

Check the seasonings and add more salt, or lemon juice, if required.

9. Make small to medium sized balls from this mixture. I usually lightly flatten these balls for ease of frying.

Make Batter

10. Take 1 cup gram flour (besan), ¼ cup rice flour, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder, 1 pinch asafoetida (hing), 1 pinch baking soda and salt as required in another mixing bowl.

11. Mix very well and make a thick flowing batter, by adding ⅓ to ½ cup water or as needed.

Make Aloo Bonda

12. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Dip each potato ball in the batter and coat it well. Carefully add the batter coated potato balls to the medium hot oil.

13. When one side is light golden and the batter has firmed up, turn over gently with a slotted spoon and fry the other side.

Fry the second side until light golden or golden. Continue to turn over as needed for an even golden color on both sides.

Place the fried Aloo Bonda on kitchen paper towels to remove extra oil. Fry the remaining fritters in batches.

14. Serve Aloo Bonda hot or warm with Coconut Chutney or Coriander Chutney or mint chutney.

Expert Tips

1. Want to make spicier bondas? Then, add a few more green chilies in the potato mixture. If you want, you can also add some red chili powder in the potato mixture.
2. You can easily make this recipe without adding any onion or garlic to it. In this case opt to add finely chopped ginger or ginger paste.
3. After cooking the potato mixture, if you feel there’s still moisture in it, then cook further for a few more minutes.
4. Seasonings, spice powders and lemon juice can be adjusted in the potato mixture, according to your taste preferences.
5. Make a thick batter as a thin batter won’t coat and cover the potato balls nicely. This will result in the potato mixture separating and falling in the hot oil making a mess.
6. Once you have shaped the potato mixture into small or medium balls, you can flatten them too before dipping in the batter. This makes it easier to fry them.
7. Remember to fry the bonda in moderately hot oil. A warm oil will make the bondas soak too much of oil and an extremely hot oil, will brown the outer batter layer leaving it partly uncooked.

Variations

There are many other variations of a bonda in South India that have other primary ingredients in them. For instance, apart from the Aloo Bonda, there are also bondas made with various other vegetables and tubers.

Udupi cuisine of Karnataka is specially known for its variety of bondas. One of the loved variants is the Vegetable Bonda made with a mixture of cooked veggies like carrot, potatoes, cauliflower, green peas, capsicum and French beans.

Some more fried snacks that are popular from the South Indian cuisine are Medu Vada, Maddur Vada, and Punugulu.

The Bonda Recipe from Tamil Nadu and the Goli Baje from Karnataka are also variations of Bonda.

Goli Baje is also known as Mangalore Bonda or Mangalore Bajji and is a famous street food. These are soft, spongy fritters made with all-purpose flour (maida), curd, coconut, spices and herbs.

Thus, also referred to as the Maida Bonda. In this, basically there’s no stuffing mixture that gets covered with the batter. The entire mixture is dropped in hot oil as small round fritters and fried.

This Aloo Bonda Recipe from the archives was first published on April 2014. It has been updated and republished on April 2024.