Vegan Vegetable Fries | Konkani Podi Recipe

Vegetable Fries or Konkani Podi is a crispy, quick, and easy-to-make side dish prepared using vegetables, rice flour, and chile powder as the main ingredient. Serve this with classic dalitoy and steamed rice for a simple and comforting meal.

Recipe card

Vegan Vegetable Fries | Konkani Podi Recipe

Kushi

Vegetable Fries or Konkani Podi is a crispy, quick, and easy-to-make side dish prepared using vegetables, rice flour, and chile powder as the main ingredient. Serve this with classic dalitoy and steamed rice for a simple and comforting meal.

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 10

Calories 61 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Pan

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 12 to 15 Pumpkin slices
• ▢ 6 Pointed gourd chopped vertically
• ▢ 12 to 15 Sweet potato slices
• ▢ 1 cup Rice flour extra for coating
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Red chile powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Asafoetida Hing
• ▢ Water as needed, approx
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ Vegetable Oil for frying

Instructions

 

Preparation

• See that the vegetable slices are not too thick or thin. If desired, you can cut the pumpkin, sweet potato, or pointed gourd into rings or circles.
  12 to 15 Pumpkin slices, 6 Pointed gourd, 12 to 15 Sweet potato slices
• Sprinkle salt and keep it aside.
  Salt
• Add rice flour, red chile powder, hing, and salt to taste and mix.
  1 cup Rice flour, 1 tablespoon Red chile powder, ½ teaspoon Asafoetida
• Now add the water little by little and mix well to form a smooth paste. It should not be too thick or thin. The consistency should be such that it gets coated on the vegetable slices.
  Water
• Divide this paste into three bowls. Add 3 vegetables in a different bowl and mix so that the slices are coated in the paste.

How to fry podi (konkani fries)?

• Heat oil in a pan or kadai for frying.
  Vegetable Oil
• Fry each vegetable in batches, as different vegetables need different frying times.
• Add a little rice flour to the plate and coat each slice with the rice flour. (this makes the outer layer super crispy)
• Once the oil is hot, add the slices, cook on medium flame, and flip it occasionally till it becomes crisp and brown on both sides. Do not overcrowd the pan.
• Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil, and repeat the process for the remaining slices.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

Video

Notes

• In a similar way, you can fry kantola (pagila), yam (suran), drumsticks (mashingasanga), banana(kele), etc. Check our post on seasonal pagila podi, karate phodi, cauliflower phodi,  kadgi podi, jeev kadgi podi. 
• The spice level is taken off when you fry items. Vary the spiciness as per your taste. This is a mild version.
• If the paste is dry, adjust the water, and if the paste prepared is thin, then add more rice flour.
• Do not overcrowd the pan. The vegetable slices will stick to each other and will not cook uniformly.
• If the oil is too hot, it will become dark soon, and if it's too cold, it will absorb excess oil. Fry between medium and medium-high temperatures. 
• To check if the oil is hot, add a piece of vegetable slice and check if it sizzles and comes up. (frying temperature is approx 350 degrees F). 
• For classic Mangalorean rava fry, coat them with semolina or sooji instead of coating slices with rice flour before dropping them in oil (check out the pagila podi video). 
• If the paste remains, you can refrigerate it and use it for the next couple of days to fry other vegetables. 

Nutrition

Calories: 61kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 13mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 237IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.2mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Konkani Podi

Podi is one of the most loved recipes in Konkani cuisine. You need rice flour, salt, chile powder, and hing to make these Konkani-style fries (phodi). Use any vegetables of your choice. Some of the popular ones are breadfruit (jeev kadgi), jackfruit (kadgi), raw banana(kele), pointed gourd(gointa), bitter gourd(karate), cauliflower(gobi), teasal gourd(phagila), potato(batata), sweet potato(kananga),etc.

Today's post is all about sweet potato fries (kanga podi), pointed gourd fries (parwal or gointa podi), pumpkin fries (dudde podi). On regular days, podi is made with one vegetable and served with rice and konkani dalithoy for a comforting meal. During festivals like Ganesh chaturthi, gowri puja, etc, different varieties of podis is made and served.

Ingredients

Vegetables: Use vegetables like raw green banana (kele), cantola (pagila), bitter melon (karate, karela), breadfruit (jeev kadgi). kadgi (jackfruit), gobi (cauliflower), sweet potato (kananga), pointer gourd (gointa), eggplant (gula) etc.

Rice flour: Base for coating. This flour makes the outer skin crispy.

Red chile powder: Spiciness.

Asafoetida: for flavor.

Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.

Preparation

• See that the vegetable slices are not too thick or thin. If desired, you can cut the pumpkin, sweet potato, or pointed gourd into rings or circles.
• Sprinkle salt and keep it aside.
• Add rice flour, red chile powder, hing, and salt to taste and mix.
• Now add the water little by little and mix well to form a smooth paste. It should not be too thick or thin. The consistency should be such that it gets coated on the vegetable slices.
• Divide this paste into three bowls. Add 3 vegetables in a different bowl and mix so that the slices are coated in the paste.

How to fry podi (konkani fries)?

• Heat oil in a pan or kadai for frying. 
• Fry each vegetable in batches, as different vegetables need different frying times. 
• Add a little rice flour to the plate and coat each slice with the rice flour. (this makes the outer layer super crispy)
• Once the oil is hot, add the slices, cook on medium flame, and flip it occasionally till it becomes crisp and brown on both sides. Do not overcrowd the pan. 
• Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil, and repeat the process for the remaining slices.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

Tips

• The spice level is taken off when you fry items. Vary the spiciness as per your taste. This is a mild version.
• If the paste is dry, adjust the water, and if the paste prepared is thin, then add more rice flour.
• Do not overcrowd the pan. The vegetable slices will stick to each other and will not cook uniformly.
• If the oil is too hot, it will become dark soon, and if it's too cold, it will absorb excess oil. Fry between medium and medium-high temperatures. 
• To check if the oil is hot, add a piece of vegetable slice and check if it sizzles and comes up. (frying temperature is approx 350 degrees F). 
• In a similar way, you can fry kantola (pagila), yam (suran), drumsticks (mashingasanga), banana(kele), etc. Check our post on seasonal pagila podi, karate phodi, cauliflower phodi,  kadgi podi, jeev kadgi podi. 
• For classic Mangalorean rava fry, coat them with semolina or sooji instead of coating slices with rice flour before dropping them in oil (check out the pagila podi video). 
• If the paste remains, you can refrigerate it and use it for the next couple of days to fry other vegetables. 

More fritters recipe

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Note: We originally posted this vegan vegetable fries / fritters / podi in Oct 2015. It has now been modified in Feb 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.