Post No.108
This is a crispy fritter made of urad dal and served with sambar. It tastes heavenly when vadas are eaten after dipping in sambar. Vada sambar is very popular as a breakfast or as evening snack. If you have left over sambar at home and don’t know what to do, just make few vadas and dip into sambar and enjoy…
Ingredients for Sambar
½ cup toor dal
1 cup shallots
1 tomato
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp sambar powder
A lemon size tamarind
A pinch of asafetida
Water as required
1 tsp salt
3tbsp oil
1tsp ghee (optiomal)
For tempering
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chilli
Few curry leaves
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
Method
Pressure cook ½ cup toor dal with 1 ½ cup of water for 4 whistle in medium flame.
Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of water.
In a pan heat one tablespoon oil and add shallots. Sauté for two minutes.
Remove the whistle from pressure cooker and open the lid. Mash the dal well.
Now add shallots, tomato and turmeric powder. Cook for 10 minutes
Now add the tamarind extract, sambar powder, asaofetida and salt. Add water to adjust the consistency . Boil well and top with a spoon of ghee.
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds , red chillii and curry leaves to it. When it splutters add to the sambar
Sambar is ready to serve with vada
Ingredients for vada
1 cup urad dal
2 chopped green chillies
1piece finely chopped ginger
Few chopped curry leaves
Pinch of asafetida
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp rice flour
2 tsp whole pepper
Oil for frying
Method
Soak 1 cup of urad dal in enough water for 3 hours. Drain off the water and grind to fine fluffy paste with water as required. It should be smooth and thick paste.
Transfer the urad dal paste into large mixing bowl and mix the batter well to incorporate air into the batter.
Add chopped ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, asafetida, pepper, 2 tbsp rice flour and salt. Mix the batter well.
Heat oil in a kadai. Wet your hands with water and take small ball and make it round.
Shape the edges and make a hole at the centre and drop the vada in oil.
Deep fry the vada on medium flame till they turn golden brown and crisp on both sides.
Soak the vada into warm water with little salt for 2 minutes . Then squeeze off the water and place the vada into a plate. Pour the prepared sambar over vada. Finally garnish with chopped onions and coriander leaves .
