Phagil is a seasonal vegetable available in monsoon i.e from July and lasts till September – October. It is similar to bitter gourds but not as bitter as them.It is called as Kantola in hindi,Kartoli in marathi,kaad hagalkayi in kannada and Spiny gourd in English . It is a powerhouse of nutrition and that is why it is even fed to the women pre and post delivery if available .We Konkanis specially in south Canara love this veggie.It is used in number of dishes like sasam,koot,talasan ,gajbaje and the most favourite of all… deep fries.As it is available during monsoon when most of the festivals begin for us ,a festive meal is incomplete without the phodis / deep fries made out of them.So here I am with the recipe of phagila phodis / Kantola deep fries.
Ingredients
- 2-3 phagils(Kantolas)
- Ground batter/phodi masolu (detailed step by step recipe here)
- Oil for deep frying
Method
Wash the phagil and trim the tips.
Slice them into roundels neither thick nor thin as shown..
Sprinkle some salt over them and rub them with hands.
Apply the ground batter and leave aside for some 10-15 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry them on medium flame till they turn nice red and crisp
Enjoy the crispy delicious phodis with lunch or dinner or both 🙂
Notes
- Select nice tender green ones without any yellow hue.
- Phagils can be tava fried too detailed recipe of which can be found here … just replace the veggies shown there with phagils .
Konkani Khann Anik Jevan 
Leave a comment