Aani Basar – A Sindhi Speciality – Guest Post by Nikita Jhanglani

Having grown up with Sindhi neighbours and studying engineering in a Sindhi college, I have grown to love Sindhi food. So far the only Sindhi Recipe on my blog is that of Koki and I hope to remedy that soon. I am making a start with this wonderful recipe for Sindhi speciality called Aani Basar that is presented by my friend and colleague, Nikita Jhanglani.

Nikita often gets wonderful Sindhi specialties for lunch (sometimes for breakfast as well) and is always sharing them with all of us. When I requested Nikita for a recipe, she agreed immediately and made this wonderful dish called Aani Basar for me. Essentially fried chickpea patties in a tangy tomato-onion gravy, I found that I could have Aani Basar all by itself.

Thank you, Nikita, for this delicious recipe.

Do try the Singhare ke Atte ka Halwa and Beetroot Tikkis by Nikita’s Mom.

This has been a great month for guest posts on my blog. This is my fourth guest post this month; after Aparna’s Hesaru Bele Panchakajjaya, Vidhya’s Javvarisi Vadagam, and Sandra’s Eggless Goan Baath Cake. And what a variety of recipes I have been blessed with.

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Aani in Sindhi means the fish roe and is one of the preferred delicacies among Sindhis. The besan aani (or the chickpeas flour dumpling) in this dish is the vegetarian version of the fish roe.

Ingredients

2 cups	Besan
2 tbsps.	Khus khus (poppy seeds)
1 + 4	Finely chopped onions
2	Finely chopped tomatoes
3-4	Finely chopped green chillies
1 + 2 tsp	Red chilli powder
1 tsp	Turmeric
1 tsp	Garam masala
For garnish	Finely chopped coriander leaves
6 tbsp	Oil for the dough
For frying	Oil

Method to Make Aani Basar

1. Mix finely chopped onions with salt, red chilli powder, and finely chopped green chillies. Let this mix sit for about 10-15 minutes, till the onion softens a little.
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2. When the onion has softened enough, add the besan and khus khus to the mix. You need to add three tablespoons of oil for each cup of besan. Because we’ve taken 2 cups of besan, we’ll be adding 6 tablespoons of oil.
3. Sprinkling only a few drops of water, combine this mixture into a smooth but hard dough.
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4. Divide the dough into two halves and make a roll out of each half.
5. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each roll.
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6. Now, cut each roll into 2” X 1” pieces. These are the aani.
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7. Deep fry the aanis and keep them aside.
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8. In the same pan, retain about 3-4 tbsps. of oil and drain out the rest.
9. In this oil, add the remaining finely chopped onions, salt, turmeric powder. Red chilli powder, coriander powder, and garam masala.
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10. Just when the onions start to turn transparent, add the finely chopped tomatoes.
11. Keep stirring the onions and tomatoes frequently so that they don’t burn.
12. When the onions and tomatoes are half-cooked, add the aanis.
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13. Mix well and keep the pan covered on a low flame.
14. Keep stirring frequently.
15. When the onions have cooked properly and the aanis have turned soft, remove the pan from the flame.
16. Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala over it, garnish with chopped coriander, and serve with hot phulkas.