Fried Snack · Spiced Potato Fritter

Bhajia

Photo: Anitah Pezz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

In Mombasa they're typically eaten with a tangy tamarind sauce called ukwaju and a hot chili sauce, and a plate of bhajia is a standard order at coastal cafés.

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.