Vada-kari (lentil fritters in tomato-coconut gravy)

Serendipity isn't something that manifests itself often in my life, so the rare occasions that it does, it's very exciting. On the day after I made the baked cabbage-onion masala vadas, I saw a recipe for vada-kari (literal meaning "curry made from vadas") on Srivalli's blog. There I was, with day-old vadas to hand, and there it was, a recipe to use them - like I said, exciting!

I think this particular curry must originaly have come about as a way of using up stale, hard vadas that would not otherwise be edible to most people - the fact that I like to nibble on them is by the way. I'm not most people. Nor are, I suspect, most people me. (It works both ways, as you can see. Hehe.)

Anyway, I changed very little from the original recipe, except perhaps the quantities. Oh, and I omitted the fried gram because I didn't have any, and reduced the quantity of coconut. It was one heck of a tasty curry, and the plump vadas, juicy from soaking up the liquid from the gravy, were delicious. I had them over rice with a simple cabbage-peas dry curry. Yum-my. Thank you, Srivalli's mother, for providing the recipe for vada-kari.

Man, do I love ever my fellow-food bloggers and their wide variety of homespun recipes! Long live the Internet, I say.

Recipe for: Vada-kari (lentil fritters in tomato-coconut gravy)


Ingredients:

About 8 day-old paruppu vadas (baked or fried)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 tsp ginger-garlic, grated

3 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

For the ground masala:

1/2 tsp fennel/saunf
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2" piece cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3-5 fresh green chillies
5 cashewnuts
5-6 coconut pieces, each about 2cm long (or 2 tbsp grated coconut)

Method:

1. Heat one tsp of oil and fry all the ingredients for the ground masala till aromatic.

Add the coconut pieces/grated coconut and stir-fry for another two minutes, then remove to a plate and set aside to cool.
2. Heat the other tsp of oil and fry the tomatoes till they are mushy. Set aside to cool.

3. Once they are all cool, grind the fried ingredients and the tomatoes to a smooth paste using a little warm water if necessary. Reserve.

4. Now heat the remaining oil and add the ginger-garlic paste, stirring for 30 seconds or so.
5. Then add the onions and fry till they become soft and turn pale brown.

6. Next, add the ground masala paste and stir it in,

adding a cupful of water.

You can add a little more water at this stage, depending on how many vadas you have.

5. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and simmer the gravy for 5 minutes or so, till it comes together and starts to thicken.
6. Drop the vadas into the gravy now and simmer the curry for 2-3 minutes, spooning the gravy over the vadas occasionally, if necessary.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with idlis or dosas, or over rice if you like. Add a dry vegetable curry for a complete meal.
Note: If the curry sits for a while, the vadas will absorb the moisture and make the curry very thick.

RECIPE: VADA-KARI (LENTIL FRITTERS IN TOMATO-COCONUT GRAVY)

Ingredients:
About 8 day-old paruppu vadas (baked or fried)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

For the ground masala:
1/2 tsp fennel/saunf
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2" piece cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3-5 fresh green chillies
5 cashewnuts
5-6 coconut pieces, each about 2cm long (or 2 tbsp grated coconut)

Method:
1. Heat one tsp of oil and fry all the ingredients for the ground masala till aromatic. Add the coconut pieces/grated coconut and stir-fry for another two minutes, then remove to a plate and set aside to cool.
2. Heat the other tsp of oil and fry the tomatoes till they are mushy. Set aside to cool.
3. Once they are all cool, grind the fried ingredients and the tomatoes to a smooth paste using a little warm water if necessary. Reserve.
4. Now heat the remaining oil and add the ginger-garlic paste, stirring for 30 seconds or so.
5. Then add the onions and fry till they become soft and turn pale brown.
6. Next, add the ground masala paste and stir it in, adding a cupful of water. You can add a little more water at this stage, depending on how many vadas you have.
5. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and simmer the gravy for 5 minutes or so, till it comes together and starts to thicken.
6. Drop the vadas into the gravy now and simmer the curry for 2-3 minutes, spooning the gravy over the vadas occasionally, if necessary.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with idlis or dosas, or over rice if you like. Add a dry vegetable curry for a complete meal.
Note: If the curry sits for a while, the vadas will absorb the moisture and make the curry very thick.

Vegetable rice spice mix

This is a spice mix that I improvised. Stop. Made improvised karela (bitter melon/gourd) rice with it. Stop. Yummy. Stop. Karela rice recipe to follow. Stop. End of message. Stop. I mean it. Stop. Stop it! Stop. Stop! it! STOP.

Recipe for: Vegetable rice spice mix


Ingredients:

3 tbsp toor dal
3 tbsp chana dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (shahjeera if you have it)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 petals of star anise
1/2" piece cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
4-5 cloves
seeds of 1 black cardamom
5-6 dried red chillies (optional)

3 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin seeds, linseeds, hemp)

Method:

1. Dry-roast the chana dal, toor dal, coriander seeds and red chillies together, till the dals turn a light brown and the red chillies turn darker. Set aside to cool.

Roast the mixed seeds over medium-low flame they are toasted. Set aside to cool.

Roast the remaining ingredients on medium-low flame till they turn colour and give off a nice aroma. Be very careful not to over-toast or burn any of the ingredients.
2. Grind all the toasted ingredients except the mixed seeds to a fairly smooth texture (like sand).
3. Then grind the pumpkin seeds/linseeds/hemp separately to a slightly coarser texture, being careful not to turn them to a paste.
4. Mix the two powders together and store tightly sealed. This should stay good for 2-3 weeks. Use as required to flavour dry vegetable curries or rice dishes.

RECIPE: VEGETABLE RICE SPICE MIX

Ingredients:

3 tbsp toor dal
3 tbsp chana dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (shahjeera if you have it)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 petals of star anise
1/2" piece cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
4-5 cloves
seeds of 1 black cardamom
5-6 dried red chillies (optional)
3 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin seeds, linseeds, hemp)

Method:

1. Dry-roast the chana dal, toor dal, coriander seeds and red chillies together, till the dals turn a light brown and the red chillies turn darker. Set aside to cool.
Roast the mixed seeds over medium-low flame they are toasted. Set aside to cool.
Roast the remaining ingredients on medium-low flame till they turn colour and give off a nice aroma. Cool.
Be very careful not to over-toast or burn any of the ingredients.
2. Grind all the toasted ingredients except the mixed seeds to a fairly smooth texture (like sand).
3. Then grind the pumpkin seeds/linseeds/hemp separately to a slightly coarser texture, being careful not to turn them to a paste.
4. Mix the two powders together and store tightly sealed. Use as required to flavour dry vegetable curries or rice dishes.