Uzhunnu vada

I love spicy food more than sweet things. Whenever I crave for a snack with tea, I always wish for egg puffs, cutlets (Kerala style) or something spicy. Satish on the other hand is always craving for sweets. I still have Lindt chocolates left over from Christmas…But anyway, without further deviating from my post…I made uzhunnu vada this weekend. Perfect snack for a lazy day. It was hardly time consuming but it was my first time making the vada. Without a recipe, I hugely relied on memory to create the vadas. I am not sure if I had to leave the batter alone for a few hours before frying them. Anyone? Satish says he thinks so but once I ground the dal I couldnt wait and I made them.

The first few turned out beautifully i.e. looks wise. When I bit into them they were rock hard. So I added a pinch of baking soda and let it sit for a few minutes. Tried them again and it was hard to believe the dramatic change. It tasted wonderful…crispy, spicy and delicious. The perfect accompaniment to filter coffee. Satish made some coconut ‘sammanthi’ or chutney to go with the vadas. It was awesome..

This is how I made the vadas…

Step 1

Saok the Urad dal 1 cup for about 3 hrs.

Step 2

Drain the water off and grind it in a food processor till it forms a smooth paste. Try not to add any extra water. Too much water can make the vadas loose shape.

Step 3

Add salt, chopped shallots or red onions, curry leaves, green chillies and ginger chopped. I also crushed the shallots, greenchillies and ginger together in a mortar and pestle. Then add a pinch of baking soda to the batter. Stir everything together and let sit for 15min.

Step 4

Apply some water to the palm of your hands and shape the batter into donuts.(Make a round ball and use your finger to create the whole in the centre.)

Step 5

Add them to really hot oil and deep fry. Remove when golden brown and serve with coconut chutney.

One cup made about 10 vadas…enough for 2 very hungry people. I was so inspired by the success that I was ready to attempt a second batch today, but alas the dal container is empty. I also attemped to make rasmalai the same day with fair results. Got to work more on that…will post on my first rasmalai attempt pretty soon.