Takoyaki

Takoyaki (literally friedorgrilled octopus)  is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion.^[1][2] Takoyaki are brushed with takoyaki sauce, a sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise. The takoyaki is then sprinkled with green laver (aonori) and shavings of dried bonito (katsuobushi). There are many variations to the takoyaki recipe. For example, ponzu i.e. soy sauce with dashi and citrus vinegar, goma-dare i.e. sesame-and-vinegar sauce or vinegared dashi.(source: Wikipedia.com  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takoyaki).
Since this recipe does not include octopus (but you may always add one if available) I shouldn't be calling it such. I just don't know what to call it yet. For some time there was a takoyaki craze in town and i was dissatisfied because the commercial "takuyaki" (that's how the small food cart's name is spelled,I know it's wrong) doesn't have octopus either. Why bother with that when I can make my own,right?

Here's the recipe:

batter
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine black pepper
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 cups cold water

filling (about 3 cups)
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 small cabbage, thinly sliced
2 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 thumb ginger, minced
1 red onion, minced
a handful of dried shrimp
oil for frying
chili sauce and japanese mayo for drizzling
1. In a bowl mix together flour, baking powder, black pepper, salt and oil.
2. In a seperate bowl whisk egg in two cups of cold water. Pour into the flour mixture, mix well.
3. Mix the vegetables and dried shrimp.
4. Heat a takoyaki pan coating each indentation with atleast 1/8 tsp oil. Ladle enough batter to fill each indentation. Fill with 1 tbsp of vegetable and shrimp mixture. Don’t worry if the filling seems too much, it will wilt eventually.
5. Cook for about 3 minutes in low heat. Loosen each ball then invert to cook the other side. I used 2 forks in this case since I do not have a takoyaki pick. If you wish a crustier or brownier ball add more oil.