Fried Snack · Spiced Potato Fritter
Bhajia
Photo: Anitah Pezz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Despite the Indian name and origin, bhajia in Kenya are almost always dipped in kachumbari, a tomato-onion salsa, not the chutneys used back in South Asia.
Thin potato slices are coated in a spiced gram-flour batter and deep-fried until crisp and golden. Street vendors and roadside kiosks sell them hot in paper cones, often alongside fried fish or chicken as a shared side.
Why it's made this way: Bhajia arrived with Indian traders and laborers who settled along Kenya's coast and railway lines in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the gram-flour frying technique was adopted using Kenya's own potatoes and chili.
Roughly what's in it
320kcal
5gprotein
40gcarbs
16gfat
Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.
More from Kenya
Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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