Apart from chutney and Sambar, Vada curry pairs very well with Idli Dosa. I have tasted this yummy vada curry in Sangeetha and Saravana Bhavan few times. After that, I always wanted to try at home. I got this recipe from my colleague and tried it few months back. We liked it to the core, I have also tried the deep fried vada version (I will be posting it soon). Let's go to the preparation steps in detail:
Ingredients:Big Onion - 1(Chopped finely)
Tomato - 2(Chopped)
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp(To garnish)
Chilli powder - 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
To Grind(For Vada):
Channa Dal(Kadalai Paruppu) - 1/2 Cup
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilli - 4
Asafoetida - a generous pinch
Curry leaves - few
To Temper:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon(pattai) - 1 inch piece
Star anise - 1
Bay Leaf - 1
To Grind(For Coconut Paste):
Coconut - 1/4 Cup
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Method:
1. Soak the channa Dal for 2 to 3 hours. Initially, grind the red chilli and asafoetida. Then drain the water from soaked dal and add the dal in the blender along with curry leaves. Grind it coarsely.
2. Pinch small balls from the gound dal and arrange it in the steamer plate or Idli mould. Steam it for 10 to 12 mins.
3. Meanwhile, grind the coconut and fennel seeds to a smooth paste. In a pan, add some oil and allow the items under 'To temper' to crackle. Then add the chopped onion and little salt. Saute it until the onions turn translucent. Then add the ginger garlic paste and chopped tomato.
4. Once the tomato turns mushy, add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Saute it until the raw smell leaves. Allow it to cool, then transfer it to a blender and blend it nicely. In the same pan, add some oil and transfer the blended onion, tomato. This step is purely optional and you can skip the blending part.
5. At this stage add the ground coconut paste and enough water for the curry. Bring it to boil. Crush the steamed vada's roughly and add it to the boiling Curry. Once the gravy thickens, garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Allow it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes, so that the vada gets soaked and blends with the curry. Serve the yummy vada curry with steamed Idli or dosa.
5. At this stage add the ground coconut paste and enough water for the curry. Bring it to boil. Crush the steamed vada's roughly and add it to the boiling Curry. Once the gravy thickens, garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Allow it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes, so that the vada gets soaked and blends with the curry. Serve the yummy vada curry with steamed Idli or dosa.
- If you don't prefer steamed version, then you can deep fry the vada and add it to the curry.
- Allow the curry to rest for few mins before serving. This makes the vada to get soaked in the curry.
- You can skip grinding the cooked onion and tomato. Both ways it tastes good.
- You can also skip adding the ground coconut and fennel seeds.
Happy's Cook - Divya
completely new recipe, I used to think vada was something fried like a snack. looks very tempting
ReplyDeletedelicious n healthy
ReplyDeleteI have never had this but I bet they taste great...it looks awesome
ReplyDelete