Monday, September 24, 2007

Kiwi Gee's Recipes From Down Under - Peanut-corn vadas

Deficient in iron? Love peanuts? Love sweetcorn? If you answer "yes" to any or all of these questions, then this recipe from Kiwi Gee is for you. She says: "Got this recipe from some cookbook in my previous life when I actually had time to pore over such things. Just as well that I remember how to make it, coz I have no idea where that cookbook is now…".

Well, that's the advantage of having a blog - now this recipe need never be forgotten! These are the tastiest vadas I've ever had and it was difficult to stop at just one or two. Good thing the kids were home with one of their friends who's adventurous (food-wise) for his age, with a typical teenager's appetite! Iron-rich though these vadas are, thanks to the peanuts, they are not for the extreme diet-conscious. But once in a while, especially if it's a rainy cold day, they're awesome. Especially when had hot.

Recipe for:
KiwiGee's Peanut corn vadas




Ingredients:

Raw peanuts – 200 gms (about a cup)
Corn kernels (fresh or tinned or frozen) – 200 gms
Fresh green chillies – 2-4, depending on chilli tolerance
Corn flour – 2 to 4 tbsp
Rice flour - 1/3 cup (my addition)
Onion – 1 large, chopped
Coriander leaves – a handful
Curry leaves – a handful
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Salt – as per taste
Oil to fry

Method:

1. Soak peanuts in water for half an hour. If corn is frozen, make sure it is thawed completely.



2. Then grind corn and peanuts coarsely along with the green chillies.



3. In the last run of the grinding, add the saunf (fennel) and jeera (cumin) seeds, onion, coriander and curry leaves, as well as the salt.



4. Grind the mixture using no or very little water. It has to be roughly the consistency that can be patted into a flat, round shape that won’t come apart when you fry it – this is a bit of a hit-and-miss, but practice makes perfect.

5. To the ground mixture, add the corn flour and rice flour and mix well (add more flour if necessary, and adjust seasoning). If you have added too much water to your mixture while grinding, then you may need to add some extra flour to thicken the mixture – don’t worry, you can’t go wrong with the flour.



6. Take a small ball of the mixture (size of a plum) and flatten it on an oiled surface (your palm or a plate or whatever) to make a flat round disc of max 1 cm depth.

7. Meanwhile, heat the oil. When the oil is at the right temperature, drop the discs in slowly one by one. Fry till then are a dark golden brown, then drain - and then the best bit – eat hot. Note that because of the peanuts, the vada will be much darker than the normal vada.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Very innovative.

Chef Jeena said...

lovely vada recipe the pictures look great, lots of healthy ingredients. :)

Linda said...

OMG, peanuts, corn.... DEEP FRIED!

You know I am going to try these Shammi, and sooner rather than later. Protein or no, hah! ;)

I bet the rice flour you added makes them extra crispy too... yum! I can't seem to catch up here, you keep posting too many goodies :)

FH said...

Unusual and yummy! Will fry in winter,too hot now!:))

Roopa (KitchenAromas) said...

Yumm Yumm! Yummmm! :)

Shammi said...

Pushpa: I thought that too! :)

Jeena: Thank you! :)

Linda: They were crisp when just out of the oil - but they dont stay that way cold. :)

Asha: Hot? hot? Wow! My car was frosted over this morning!

Roopa: :D Speechless, huh?

Ramya said...

Hey Shammi
The vada looks so delicious. Good pictures. I am a regular to your blog and I love your recipes!

Ramya

Shammi said...

Thank you for your kind comments, Ramya :)

Bharathy said...

Shyam, Sorry, I'd been away for my holiday past week.
Really happy to note you tried Aloo bondas.You are very true with that doubt,Shyam...Let the flour for coating be not very thick.It does create a dent in coating where we hold with our finger tips,but as soon as you slide in the hot oil it fills up a little!:)..and shields them to an extend!:)..if you carefully see the picture of mine you can see that in mine too(he he)..Being an expert in making snacks(saw the long list in your menu :0 )these create nil problem for you,dear!!:)
You have a wonderful place here! and thanx again for trying my recipe..:)

Castor aka Kiwilax said...

Stop at one or two??? Gosh, are you for real? I'll willingly take tips from you on self-control, da!! Thanks again for hosting.
PS: were they too spicy for Pete?

Shammi said...

Bharathy: Thanks for taking the time to reply! And thanks for the tip too! :)

Gee: I'm not crazy about peanuts... so while I liked the taste a LOT, a couple of the vadas were enough really :) They were a bit spicy for Pete even though I reduced the heat. Oh well.

Anonymous said...

Shyam, Amma made them the other day - we both L.O.V.E.D them! Yummy!

Sona - quick picks/pick quicks said...

hi, firat time here..luv the look of the vadas!!..sure , they taste yumm

Kumudha said...

This vada is new to me.
Sounds delicious.

DK said...

Vadas..and that too peanut vadas..! OMG. Will give it a try...and update :)