Kirla Podi (Bamboo Shoot fritters)

"Kirla Podi" or Bamboo Shoot fritters is one of my favorite side dish for lunch.
"Kirl" means bamboo shoots in Konkani.
The main nutrients in bamboo shoots are protein, amino acid, fat, sugar and inorganic salt. They are rich in protein, The bamboo protein produces eight essential and two semi-essential amino acids. The total sugar content is lower than that in other vegetables. The water content is 90% or more.

Bamboo shoots are mainly used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. However, in coastal Karnataka, we have many delicacies made out of Bamboo shoots. This is the first among them.

This dish is not the healthiest of options since it involves frying, but its definitely the yummiest in the list of Bamboo Shoot dishes.

Ingredients:

Bamboo shoots fresh/pickled/salted - 200 gms

Rice powder - 2 tbsp

Red chilly powder - 2 tsp

Oil for frying

Method:

If you are using cut pieces of bamboo shoots immersed in salt, like the way you get in India, you need to soak it overnight, to remove the extra saltiness.

For pickled bamboo shoots check the saltiness of the bamboo shoots and then decide if they too need to soaked in plain water overnight.

After soaking them in fresh water overnight, drain them well. Some amount of salt will still be left, so there is no need to add any salt during the cooking process.

The bamboo shoots then need to be finely chopped as shown below. An easy way to chop them is by putting them in a blender for 2-3 seconds.

Now take the chopped bamboo shoots and put them in a large bowl. Add rice powder, red chilly powder and mix well using your hand. Form evenly shaped flattened balls and deep fry or shallow fry as desired. Serve hot as a side dish with a meal or eat them plain as an evening snack.