I was eagerly looking forward to BM 17. The new apartment has more windows than walls and I was really looking forward to clicking some pictures in natural light. No more taking the food to the car park as I was doing in the previous house.

Well, now with the camera missing I just don’t know what to do. So I thought of posting recipes from the Thali meals I did for Valli’s Thali Mela.

And thought I will share some interesting facts to distract you all from the same old pictures.

Fact 1 : We don’t have television at home. Haven’t had one for the past 6 years. 

Enjoy the vada recipe when you get over the shock :)

Recipe Source : Tickling Palates

Ingredients:

• Urad dal                               :            1 cup
• Corn Flour                           :             2 tbsp
• Green Chilies                      :             2, chopped fine
• Onion                                     :             1/2 small, chopped fine (optional)
• Ginger                                    :              1/2 ” piece, chopped fine
• Whole Black pepper        :             4-5
• Curry leaves                        :              1 sprig, chopped fine
• Salt
• Oil for deep frying

Method: 

1. Wash and soak the dal for 30 – 40 minutes. Drain the water before grinding
2. In a wet grinder or mixie jar, grind the dal with a little water. Grind to get a smooth and thick batter . It should be thick, so add water, if required to help with the grinding, in tablespoons and don’t add more than 3 tbsp.
3. Add corn flour at the last stage of grinding so that everything is incorporated and you have a fine thick smooth batter.
4. Transfer the batter into a bowl. If you are making the vadas right away, keep the batter in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or leave it in the fridge till you need it.
5. Radhika has included a consistency check, which helped me a lot. She has mentioned that the batter should be thick enough not to fall down if you are scooping it up. It should also be so light, that a tiny portion (about 1/2 tsp) when dipped in water, should float and should not sink.
6. Heat the oil for deep frying in a pan.
7. Add onion, chopped ginger, curry leaves, chilies and pepper to the batter and mix well. In a clean plastic sheet (or a plantain leaf), place about 2 tbsp of the batter. Pat it into the vada shape (small doughnut shape) and put a hole in the middle. Keep dipping your fingers in a bowl of water  to help with the patting and shaping of the vada, else the batter will stick to your fingers.
8. When the oil is hot, gingerly take the vada out of the plastic sheet and slide it carefully into the oil. Be careful while doing this.
9. When the vada turns brown, flip it over and cook the top portion too. Take off the heat, drain in a kitchen towel. Finish the rest of the batter the same way and enjoy the vadas with coconut chutney.
10. Tip : I kept the batter in the fridge the whole time and was taking them out only at the time of shaping them.

Linked to :

• Blogging Marathon 17, under Evening Tiffin theme
• Kid’s Delight, for this month’s theme : Snacks