Donne Mirsang Bajo (Green Pepper Fritters)

It was our first big snow storm of the season. The roads were quite treacherous while I drove back late Friday afternoon so I decided to stay put at home. Luckily, after school events and activities were cancelled for the evening and I was even more happier when all of Saturday's events were cancelled too - One day to sleep until late morning.
Early Saturday morning, kids were geared up outside with sledges and all possible things they could use in the snow. Our neighboring states, all had almost 30" of snow. Those with no power and who were stranded on highways, must have had a very long night. Our area was spared and we got about 8"of snow. I truly consider ourselves blessed after experiencing Sandy.
While the kids played outside, we decided to start shoveling our walkway and driveway. For a moment, I thought "Why don't we let the sun take care of it"? But we had to shovel knowing that it might turn into ice by the end of the day. After spending 2-3 hours shoveling, I could tell all the muscles in the body that had never been used. It was a good work out though!

After being outside in the cold, Bajo/Pakora/Fritters were the perfect snack.

Ingredients:

1 large green bell pepper (Capsicum)
1/2 cup besan (chick pea flour)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
a pinch of cumin seeds (jeera)
water at room temperature
salt to taste
oil for frying

How it's made:

Wash bell pepper under running water. Cut in half, remove seeds and slice into 1/2" thick slices. Set aside.
In a medium size mixing bowl, add besan, red chilli powder, hing, salt and cumin seeds. Add a little water at the time to make a thick paste. Dip bell pepper slices in batter until well coated and deep fry in oil until light brown. Serve hot.

Note: Cauliflower, Zucchini, Potato, Onions can be used instead of bell pepper.