Hot-N-Spicy Rasam Vada (Urad dal+ Moong dal).

"Hot-N-Spicy Rasam Vada (Urad dal+ Moong dal)" ... these are crisp~ spongy fritters dunked in spicy rasam; a popular south Indian snack that is a combination of two dishes "Rasam" and "Vada" ... you can serve it for breakfast or as appetizer for lunch/ dinner ... either way it tastes great, especially during monsoon when there is chill in the air ... try it, tastes awesome ... Yummilicious ....

** Rasam Vada is a South Indian Specialty served in most restaurants as an appetizer. They are also called Rasam Bonda in some places. I have already posted this once before with a difference that it was prepared stuffing whole onion. However, this Rasam Vada is the traditional one that is served in most place in glasses before serving other dishes. Rasam Vada is spicy and served very very hot.

** Frankly I must mention that my Amma never prepared this and I tasted it for the first time in my teens at my friends place during a function and was truly impressed. Amma, though often prepared biscuit ambado with either sambar or chutney and I dunked them in sambar for sometime and relished them. After marriage I often relished it in Woodland hotel as it is served as one of the items in their Thali meals. 

** Coming to Vada, you can prepare them in combination of any lentils like urad, moong, chana or a mix of the same too. In my home biscuit ambado is prepared with urad dal only and it comes out awesome, all crispy outside and spongy within. Here however I have used a combination of urad dal and moong dal and they turned out great too. So the choice is completely individual and you may try out with any.

** Children are very fussy eaters, however when it comes to sweets or deep fries they are game and enjoy eating them. Again, if certain habits are formed at young age, like reading, playing, exercising, music and above all food then it continues for a lifetime. So, do try these and let your children enjoy them during weekends or holidays, as that is the time when hunger pangs hits the most to all of us. 

** Here is my recipe for "Hot-N-Spicy Rasam Vada (Urad dal+ Moong dal)" ... my style; do try it, tastes awesome ...

** Ingredients For the preparation of Vada :

Urad Dal/ Black Gram Split Dal : 1 cup

Moong Dal/ Green Gram Split Dal : 1 cup

Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1 tsp

Ginger/ Alle'/ Adrak : 1 large tablespoon.

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh leaves

Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 3-4 

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

 

** Wash and soak urad dal and moong dal together in plenty of water for 2-3 hours. Drain the water, add into a colander and rinse well under running water well and keep it aside for sometime, say about 20-30 minutes to be completely drained. Take care to see that there is absolutely no extra moisture left.

** Add into a mixer grinder or table top grinder and grind to a smooth paste without adding water. The trick in getting good vada lies in making of the paste soft and fluffy. It is always better if you can grind it without water, mixing it often. However, if you find this difficult you can sprinkle some water, mix well and grind too.

** Remove the ground paste in a large flat bottomed bowl/ vessel. Add hing powder, finely chopped ginger, curry leaves chopped finely, green chilies cut into round rings along with salt to taste and mix well. Cover and keep it aside for just 10-15 minutes, then with hand beat it well for 3-4 minutes to bring in aeration.

** For Deep Frying : Heat plenty of oil in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when it reaches smoking point, lower the heat to medium, wait for 4-5 minutes and it is ready to fry. However, to check add a small ball of batter, if it sizzles back slowly without being burnt then it is perfect to deep fry, otherwise do wait for a few minutes more.

** Now with the help of hand remove about a large tablespoon of batter, rolling it on the rim within the bowl to form a round shape and then gently leave it into the hot oil. Be careful while adding to the vada's into the hot oil to avoid the oil spluttering and bruising your hands. Add in the required number of vada's. Do not overcrowd the kadai, there should be enough space to turnover the vadas and fry them evenly.

** Let the Vada's fry for a few minutes in maintained heat level, then gently flip them frequently to get the vadas evenly fried. If you find the heat is not sufficient raise it for a few minutes to maintain the temperature. When they are perfectly golden brown all over remove with a ringed spatula and place them on an absorbent paper for the extra oil to get drained off completely. Repeat the procedure with the reaming batter, till all the batter has been used or until the required number of Vada's are fried.

** Note : You can serve the vadas dipped in Rasam, Sambar or Curds which as referred to as Rasam- Vada, Vada- Sambar, Dahi- Vada, or if desired you can serve this with any Chutney of your choice too. If desired you can prepare them like how I did, I made two dishes out of the same vada's, I soaked some in rasam and some in beaten curds and had them as Rasam- Vada and Dahi Vada and they both were wonderful.

** Ingredients For the preparation of Rasam :

Moong Dal/ Grren Gram Split Dal : 1/2 cup

Tomatoes : 2-3

Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly Paste : 1 tblsp

Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : handful

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :

Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 2-3 tblsp

Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp

Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1 tsp

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu :8-10

Rasam Powder : 2-3 tblsp

Red Chilly Powder : 1/2 tsp

** Wash and add the moong dal into a pressure cooker pan along with 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 3-4 whistles. You can use masoor dal/ red lentil or tuvar dal if desired too). Let the pressure in the cooker fall itself, when able to open do so and add the cooked dal into a thick bottomed vessel.

** Mash the dal well with a hand blender or potato masher to get a evenly ground dal. Add 3-4 cups of water, salt to taste and mix well. Wash, wipe dry, cut the tomatoes into small pieces and add the dal, mix well and bring to a boil of high heat stirring often. When it boils, lower the heat and let simmer while we prepare tempering.

** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat coconut oil in a small kadai, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add jeera, hing powder, curry leaves and fry for a second or two. Now add the rasam powder, chilly powder and fry for a minute or two. Remove and add this to the simmering dal, mix well and bring all together to a boil on high heat. Once the rasam comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer for at least 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Remove and garnish with coriander leaves.

** For soaking Method of Rasam- Vada : When the Vada's and fried and done, add them in warm water for about 10-15 minutes, thereby allowing it to absorb water and turn out soft and spongy. Remove the Vada's and press each between the palms to gently squeeze out the water from within. This should be done gently so as to not break the vadas. Now add them into the prepared hot Rasam, cover and keep it aside for an 1-2 hours, so that the vadas absorb the rasam and get soaked properly.

** "Hot-N-Spicy Rasam Vada (Urad dal+ Moong dal)" is done and ready to be served. Always serve Rasam Vada piping hot in glasses (as showed in picture) as that is the way it is usually served in South Indian Restaurants as an appetizer with thali meals. You can serve it in small bowls too or in any serving dish of your choice if desired too. You need to sip on the rasam hot for savour its spicy flavour, just like a soup and bite on the vadas in between for best of taste. Do prepare and serve these Rasam- Vada's during your next get together/ party or when you have guest dropping in, sure to be loved.

** Note : The quantity of Rasam Powder to be added while making the Rasam depends on individual taste and also the quality of the product purchased. I have used store bought rasam powder, you may chose any. You can add more or less rasam powder depending upon how spicy you want the rasam to be, however, this is a spicy appetizer dish which is usually prepared spicy, do try it and adjust accordingly.