Masal Vadai

Masal Vadai:

Channa Dal 1 cup (soaked for one hour and washed)

garlics 2 cloves

ginger 1/2 inch piece

soaked red chillies 2 (or more if you like it hotter) or 1 tsp of red chilli powder

Sombu (aniseeds) 1tsp

salt to taste

Grind the above in a mixie using the whipper button. It takes just a minute to grind it coarsely.
Now mix the following ingredients:

chopped Curry leaves 1tsp
chopped green chilli 1 (optional)
chopped coriander leaves
1 chopped onion

Mix well. Make small balls and keep on a plate

Heat oil for deep frying. When it is hot, lower the heat.

Press the balls of dough loosely into vada shape and slide into the oil.

Add as many vadas as could be fried in the given amount of oil.

Increase the heat and fry on medium heat till they are cooked on one side.

Turn them over and cook on the other side till they are golden brown.

Take them out with the holed ladle and drain the oil.

Serve hot.

You can use a handful each of channa dal, moong dal and tur dal in the above recipe and name it 'paruppu vadai.' You can substitute heeng (asofoetida) for sombu to make it differently flavoured.

Medhu Vadai

Soak 1 cup of urad dal in water,( after washing it thoroughly) till soft (about 1-2 hours). Wash in water 3 times. Drain and grind the dal in a mixie, adding a few drops of water now and then to make into a fine paste. Put in a pinch of asofoetida and 1 tsp of salt and mix well. Finely chop 1 green chilli and 1 inch piece of peeled ginger (or grind in a mixie). Chop 1 tbsp of coriander leaves and a few curry leaves. Mix all with the dough. You can add finely chopped onion too, if you like the taste.

Heat vegetable oil in a thick bottomed kadai(wok), enough to deep fry.

Wet your hands. (This helps the dough not to stick onto your hand). Take a lemon sized portion of the dough and flatten it on one palm. Make a hole in the centre. Slide this vadai into the hot oil gently. (Take care not to splash the hot oil by dropping the dough from a height! Your hand should go as near the pan as possible without toughing the hot pan or oil). Make 2 or more vadais like this (as much as the oil holds) and fry them on medium heat. Turn them gently with a holed ladle and continue frying. Let them cook for a few more minutes till the vadais are golden and crisp. Drain the oil using the holed ladle and place them on a paper towel.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Vegetable cutlet

2 large potatoes cooked, peeled and mashed

1 tbsp of boiled green peas

1 tbsp of grated carrot

2 green chilli (or 1 tsp chilli powder)and 1/2 inch piece of ginger, chopped finely

1 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped finely.

2 tsp of salt (or to taste)

Mix all the above ingredients together, make into lemon sized balls, flatten them and keep ready.

For coating:

Mix 2 tbsp of cornflour, 1 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt. Make a thin batter with 2 tbsp of water

(Alternate batter is to mix 1 beaten egg instead of cornflour-it tastes yummier!)

Dip the balls of cutlets in this batter, coating them all around.

Keep ready a plateful of breadcrumbs (or powdered corn flakes, if you want less oily cutlets).

Roll the batter-coated cutlet pieces in the crumbs gently and deep-fry the cutlets in vegetable oil on medium heat till golden in colour (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve hot with tomato sauce and a few pieces of onions, carrot, tomato and cucumber on the side.