Urad dal vadas

Urad dal vadas

Vadas are hot favourites at any Udipi (South Indian) cafe. The accompaniments are coconut chutney and/or sambar, though kids also seem to like the vadas with tomato sauce. The ingredients are few but the method is a little tricky to master. Everyone has his or her tried and tested way...here is mine.

Makes 8 to 10 medium sized vadas
Soaking time : 4 hours
Preparation time : 15 minutes

Ingredients

1. 'Urad' dal or black gram dal (skinless) - 250 gms
2. Ginger chopped roughly - 1 tablespoon
3. Curry leaves chopped - 1 to 2 teaspoons
4. Salt to taste
5. Green chillies chopped - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Peppercorns (optional) - 1 to 2 teaspoons
7. Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Wash and soak the dal for 4 hours.
2. Drain and grind the dal, ginger and salt adding very little water. The paste should be firm (and hold its shape) and ground a little coarsely.
3. Add the green chillies, peppercorns (optional) and curry leaves. Adjust salt and mix well.
4. In a wok, heat enough oil for deep frying the vadas. The oil should become very hot and the flame should remain on high. Drop a small bit of paste to see if the oil is ready. (The dropped bit should float instantly and brown in about half a minute as it swells a bit.)
5. Now comes the part where everyone has his or her own version of making the vadas. I like to do it this way. I wet both my hands and take a blob of paste and pass it from one hand to the other till I get a round shape. Then with one finger, I make a depression in the middle of the blob and slide this into the hot oil. The oil should sizzle and bubble all around the vada and also through the hole that was made. Drop in some more vadas, without crowding the oil too much. Turn and cook the vadas. Once the vadas become a nice deep golden, lift them from the oil and set on kitchen paper to drain. Serve hot with chutney or sambar.

Step 4

Step 5

Step 5

Step 5

Step 5

Serve hot urad dal vadas

Tips

In step 1, soak dal in water that reaches at least a hand above the level of the dal.

After step 2, check whether the paste is light enough to get a crisp and light vada. For that, in a cup of water, drop a tiny bit of the ground dal and check to see if the ground paste sinks or floats. If the paste floats then the paste is well aerated and it is ready to be fried. However, if the paste sinks, then the ground dal can be aerated by either beating with your fingers or a whisk or even an egg-beater. This aeration is done so that the vadas will be soft inside and crispy outside. Otherwise the vadas could turn hard and unappetising.

A little chopped onions may also be added if you like in step 3.

Potato and meat pie

Potato and meat pie

A spicy take on the Shepherd's pie. A one dish meal best had in the cold season.

Serves 3 to 4
Preparation and cooking time: 40 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

1. Minced meat (either mutton or beef) - 1/2 kg
2. Potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed) - 1/2 kg
3. Onions roughly chopped - 1/2 cup
4. Ginger very finely chopped - 1 teaspoon
5. Garlic chopped - 1 teaspoon
6. Tomatoes chopped - 1/2 to 1 cup (as required)
7. Green chillies chopped finely (optional) - 1 teaspoon
8. Mixed vegetables (like peas, beans, carrots etc) diced - 1 cup
9. Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
11. Chilli powder (or flakes) - 1/2 teaspoon or as required
12. Pepper powder - as required
13. Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
14. Worcestershire sauce (optional) - according to taste
15. Cream - 1/2 cup
16. Green coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon
17. Salt to taste
18. Oil for sauteing
19. Hard boiled eggs (optional) - 2

Method

1. Set oven for 175 degrees.
2. In a pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions and saute for a minute. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Stir for a minute on medium heat, making sure the spices do not burn.
3. Add the minced meat and stir, breaking any meat lumps as you stir.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt and a cup of water to cook the mince.
5. When the meat is almost done and dry, add the diced vegetables and 1/2 cup of water. Cook till the vegetables are done. Add the garam masala, worcestershire sauce (optional) and pepper powder. Adjust seasoning. Stir well. Chop the boiled eggs and keep aside.
6. Add salt, cream, finely chopped coriander leaves and a pinch of pepper to the mashed potatoes. Mix well breaking any lumps.
7. In an oven-proof deep dish, tip in all the meat mix and top with the chopped eggs.
8. Then, layer it with the potato mash and using a fork, make lines on top of the pie. Bake for at least 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. The lines on the potato layer should be golden.
9. Serve hot with a green salad.

Tips

This can be made ahead and baked at a mealtime. The method may be followed till the dish is assembled with the potatoes, and then it may be refrigerated. Baking time will be a little longer in such a case.

Spice amounts may be changed according to requirement.