Beguni or Brinjal Fritters

Hi Friends, I'm back after a quite long break. Even after coming from vacation, last 10 days, the man of the family was terribly sick with fever. So couldn't even think of blogging a bit...Now he is fine, so tried to post something...I don't know why it feels little weird to write down something after such a long break, it feels like I havn't ever did this before...but I've to say that, I terribly missed blogging,...
Any way,  Beguni or Brinjal Fritters is my recipe today...........

Beguni is a famous bengali snack made from brinjals. We call brinjals "begun", so the fritters or pakoras made out of it is "beguni". This fritter is so beloved in bengali community, it is served as an evening snack with tea (mainly in demand when it rains outside) or is a famous accompaniment with Khichdi(a lentil-rice combination), a popular appetizer in any special occassion menu like birthdays, Puja, even in marriage functions. You can serve this as a side dish with any dal and rice. During Durga Puja, it is served with Khichdi in puja pandals and even it is made at bengali households,too. I also made this during puja time at home.
The most important aspect of this fritter is the shape in which the brinjals are cut. First, cut in 1/8 inch thick round slices and then cut each round one from the middle (resembling the shape of half-moon). Another way to cut the brinjals is to make thin slices of the brinjals vertically. For best results, always use the dark purple brinjals. Now to the ingredients, you need very less ingredients for this fritter...

Ingredients : 

Thick Purple Brinjal : 1
Besan(chick pea flour) : about 1 cup
Chilli powder : 2 tsp. (according to your taste)
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Kalonji or black cumin or onion seed : 1 tsp.
Poppy seed(posto) : 2 tblsp.(for extra flavour & crunch)

Baking powder : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Water
Oil for deep frying

Method :

• Sprinkle a pinch of both salt and turmeric powder over the brinjals and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
  
• To prepare the batter, take besan in a bowl, mix all the ingredients in it except water and oil and mix them together.Then add enough water to make a semi-thick consistency of batter. It shouldn't be runny or not too much thick.Whip the batter for 2-3 minutes to make a smooth and lump-free batter.
  
• Heat enough oil in a wide vessel to deep fry. Dip each eggplant piece in the batter, check if it is coated from all sides. then deep fry in medium heat until lightly browned. 
• Serve hot immediately after frying.............................

This is going to take part in my ongoing event ,       
"Sunday Snacks : Festive snack of Navratri & Diwali"....Friends, send in your entries soon to me, I want to know Which snack you've served to your family & friends during this festive season.