Thursday, January 18, 2018

Parippu Vada



It was an unusually chilly evening, with the sky overcast. It was the perfect time to have a piping hot tea and some snacks. I decided to raid my kitchen to find out what I could concoct fast. Though my kitchen was well-stocked and I could make anything, parippu vada won hands down. Though easy, I generally refrain from making parippu vada, as it suits none of our stomachs, and tend to cause bloating and stomach aches. But that evening was so rare and perfect that I threw all cautions to the wind. We were all prepared to starve that night, if need be. And so I ventured into vada-making after quite a long time.





Ingredients

Toor dal                                     3/4 cup
Chana dal                                   ¼ cup
Shallots chopped fine                  a handful
Green chilli chopped                   2 or more as desired
Ginger chopped fine                    1 tsp
Asafoetida powder                      ¼ tsp
Red chilli powder                        1 tsp or as desired
Turmeric powder                         a pinch
Curry leaves crushed                   1 sprig
Salt                                             to taste
Oil                                               for deep frying


Method
Soak toor dal and chana dal in water for a minimum of 2 hours. Drain out the water completely. Add salt, asafoetida, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and grind lightly in a mixer, so that a portion of it is ground to a coarse paste and the rest half-ground. Make sure you do not add any water. Transfer it to a bowl and add shallots,green chilli, ginger and curry leaves and mix well. Heat oil in a pan. Make small balls out of the dal mixture and flatten it to small discs. Deep fry till golden. Serve hot. 

The next day I made a very spicy and tangy rasam and soaked the left-over vadas in it for about 4 hours. That made a fantastic appetizer for dinner.