Sunday, November 9, 2008

Vadai

We hardly ever deep fry anything at home. I'm just plain scared of hot oil. Once in a way we call people over for breakfast and they make requests. Usually its for healthy food, but once in a while, we get requests for vadai. My attempts at making "healthy" vadai have failed terribly and I've just succumbed and decided to make some guests happy. So here was my first attempt at making vadais!


Vadai

1 cup Urad Dal
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
4-5 Curry Leaves, finely chopped
1 pinch Asafetida
1/4 tsp Peppercorn
1/2 Cumin Seeds
Salt, as needed (about 1/4 tsp)
Oil, for deep frying

Soak urad dal for about 1/2 hour in lots of water. Drain very well and grind to a heavy smooth mixture.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Dip your hands in water to keep from sticking, and shape the dough into small balls (about the size of a lemon). Flatten each slightly and place each one on a plastic sheet (cling wrap works well). Make sure your hands are slightly damp and with your thumb, create a hole in the center (like a doughnut).


Meanwhile heat the oil in a fryer until hot (you can test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of the dough into it and notice that it sizzles and the dough turns brown). Transfer or slip each piece of doughnut into the oil and fry until golden brown and crisp. You could fry a few at a time, depending on the size of the pan. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

Check out my fellow marathoners:
DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi, Sripriya, Viji, Kamalika and Pavani.

12 comments:

Raaga said...

I should make this sometime too :-) Or is it simpler to invite myself over for breakfast and then make this request?

Priya Suresh said...

Crispy vadais, makes me hunger..

lakshmi said...

nice one anu. never heard before. must try. see i wrote it before anybody else could :P

lakshmi said...

now for my sensible comment - you deep fried!!! and they look awesome - golden brown and crunchy :)

CurryLeaf said...

Lovely.I thought you only 'baked' vadas :).Thank God,You deep fried. Lovely and perfect.Professional in frying as well. :D

Unknown said...

They look perfectly shaped Anu..I somehow never get the hole properrly..

Sunshinemom said...

I make these only during pongal and Ganesh Chaturthi, but I do love them so much dunked in rasam or sambar!! Yummy:)

Bharti said...

Looks good and now I'm super hungry.
Some times you just have to let go and deep fry ;-)
It's good for the junkie in us.

Bhawana said...

deliicous vada. I love to have this with sambhar. whr were u from past few days??

Bhawana said...

deliicous vada. I love to have this with sambhar. whr were u from past few days??

Lisa Turner said...

I've made something similar in the past that I mean to make again soon. Maybe I will try this recipe instead. I too rarely deep fry foods, but sometimes I just can't resist.

Arundathi said...

Raaga - Come over anytime!

Priya - :)

Lakshmi - LOL!! Yeah i deep fried! sigh.

Curry Leaf - Yeah baked vadais are terrible!! I tried!

Divya Vikram - It took a lot of tries on my part. What really worked for me is making sure the dough is not watery, dip your hands in water and use the saran wrap for shaping. Hope that helps.

Sunshinemom - I like them plain - they lose their crispiness in the sambar/rasam.

Bharti - Yeah, the junkie rearing its ugly head! :)

Bhawana - Had some internet trouble. Thanks for asking.

Lisa - do try it - its guaranteed to work.