Vadai-Mixed Dal Vadai

Vadai often referred to as Vada is usually made from Dal/ Lentils.There are two types of vadai , Channa dal ( kadalai paruppu in Tamil) vadai and Urad dal (ulundhu in Tamil) vadai.The one i have attempted is called mixed dal vadai as i have used equal proportion of both the dals. This vadai comes as soft as urad dal vadai and as crispy as channa dal vadai. 

Ingredients:

To Grind

Ingredients 1

• Channa Dal-1 Cup
• Urad Dal-1 Cup
• Ginger-1 inch

Ingredients 2

• Green Chillies( finely Chopped)-2 nos
• Onion  big sized- finely chopped)-1 no
• Coriander leaves( finely Chopped)
• Curry leaves- 1 strand
• Salt- as per taste
• Hing- 1tsp
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

Soak both the dals for an hour and grind coarsely with salt and ginger,to this add the all the ingredients from the Ingredients 2 list, mix well, check for salt at this stage and adjust accordingly.
Heat oil, check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a tiny piece of the vadai mix in to the oil, if it raises up , then the oil is hot enough.
Now make a small ball of the vadai mix, flatten it and make a hole in the center  slowly slide this in to the hot oil, and fry both the sides till you see a nice golden brown and crispy vadai. Repeat the procedure for the rest of the mix. Make sure you fry them in medium flame.

                                                             CRISPY VADAI IS READY!!

Gobi Manchurian/Cauliflower Manchurian – Dry

Crispy cauliflower tossed in spicy sauce Gobi/Cauliflower Manchurian is a very popular Indian-Chinese appetizer, I have tried the dry version the dry version. This dish goes well with mild pulav and fried rice.

.

To fry Cauliflower

• Oil for deep frying.
• Medium sized cauliflowers cut in to bite sized florets
• All purpose flour-3/4 cup
• Corn starch-1 tbsp
• Water to make batter
• Salt to taste
• Pepper as per your spice level
• Ginger garlic paste-1/2 tbsp
• Food color- orange or red (optional) a pinch

Method:

Make a thin batter by mixing all the above ingredients from the above table except, cauliflower and oil.

Heat a pan with enough oil to fry the cauliflower, dip the cauliflower in the batter one by one and fry them well.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce -

For the sauce:

• Oil -2 tbsp
• Ginger garlic (finely chopped) -2 tbsp
• Onion (finely chopped) – 1 cup
• Green chilly (finely chopped) - 2-3 (adjust as per your spice level)
• Red chilly sauce-1 tbsp (adjust as per your spice level)
• Ketchup-2 tbsp
• Soy sauce-2 tbsp
• Vinegar-1tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Capsicum(half) – chopped  

·    Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add onion, followed by finely chopped green chillies, ginger, garlic and saute till the onion turns translucent.Add chilly sauce and ketchup and mix well, followed by soy sauce and vinegar. Add little salt and wait till you get a nice aroma, add the fried Cauliflowers to the prepared sauce and toss well to coat the cauliflower with the sauce mix. Add the chopped capsicum mix well and turn off. This way the capsicum would be crunchy when you serve. 

                          Nice and Spicy Gobi Manchurian is ready to be relished.

Potato Fry

Easy and simple side dish, goes well with Sambar and rasam.








Ingredients:

•  Oil- as per need
• Mustard seeds and split black gram ( for tempering)
• Curry leaf- 1 stalk
• A pinch of hing
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Chilly powder-1 tbsp(adjust as per your spice level)
• Salt as per need
• Boiled Potato-5 (medium size)
• Peas  (optional)

Instructions:

In a heavy bottomed pan, add oil once its hot enough, add mustard seeds and split black gram, followed by curry leaves ,hing,boiled potato and peas, mix well, add salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder, cook it in medium flame for few minutes.Leave it on the stove till you get the desired crispiness. Serve as a side dish for Sambar or Rasam.

Lotus Root Fry

This is not a common vegetable that we use in our day to day cooking. Well i started to try them after tasting it at my friend`s place and trust me it was good.Lotus root is a crunchy vegetable, looks great when chopped and tastes good after they are cooked.





Ingredients:

• Oil as per need
• Fennel seeds-1 tsp
• Few Curry leaves
• Lotus Root- 2-3 (  abt 250 gms)
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• Chilly powder and coriander powder-1 tbsp(adjust as per spice level)
• Salt- as per taste
• Garam masala powder-1 tsp

Instructions:

• Wash,peel and chop the Lotus root.

• Add oil to the pan, once the oil is hot, add the fennel seeds
• As the color of the fennel seeds change add curry leaves followed by chopped lotus root.
• Saute them well.
• Add ginger garlic paste , salt and turmeric and saute them till you get a nice aroma, sprinkle little water if needed.
• Now add Chilly powder , garam masala powder and mix well, Bring down the flame and cook it till you get the desired crispiness.
• Serve with Sambar.