Chattambado with radish leaves.

Chattambado with moolangi paan  / Chana Dal Flat Fritters With Radish Leaves .......

Chattambado is a name given by GSB / Konkani Sarawath’s to flat shaped vada’s or fritters. These are made with usually with chana dal (Bengal gram dal) adding some spices. Some people do add onions etc. to the same but traditionally it is kept simple without adding anything else. I have already posted chattambado before both ordinary and variation one’s. This one is also on similar lines. For a change I have added fresh leafy vegetables of the season ie. Mooli leaves / tender radish leaves. You can prepare these with any edible leaves available at your vicinity. Also you can add in finely chopped onions too. I have not added them this time, but some times I do add them.

Ingredients:

2 cups of chana dal.

¼ cup of rice (Optional)

3-4 cups of finely chopped tender radish leaves.

½ cup of freshly grated coconut.

6-8 dry red chillies.

A small marble sized tamarind.

1 tsp of hing powder.

Salt to taste. 

2 tblsp of besan (bengal gram flour) if needed only.

Wash and soak rice and chana dal together with plenty of water in a vessel for 2-3 hours. Wash well and drain and keep this ready aside. 

Wash and chop radish leaves finely. Keep this ready aside.

In a mixer grinder add in the red chillies, coconut and tamarind along with hing powder and grind to a coarse texture. Do not add any water. Now add in the drained rice+chana dal mixture and grind further to a coarse powder. Do not add water. You can sprinkle some water if you find it absolutely necessary. I use food processor grinder for such coase grinding where we have to grind them without water. I find that very useful in dry grinding. You can follow any method you prefer. Remove and put the ground mixture in a flat bowl.

Now add in the finely chopped radish leaves to the bowl. Squeeze out any water if any before adding. Add salt to taste and mix well. The prepared mixture should be very dry, but should come to binding of a ball consistency. If you find it breaking up add the besan a little bit at a time and mix well. Check seasoning. You can add in some salt or chilly powder, if you find it too bland or want it spicier. Mix well, take a large lemon sized ball of mixture in hand and roll it form a ball, flatten it gently till you get a flat round shape of about 3-4 inch in diameter. 

Add sufficient oil for deep frying in a thick bottomed kadai. Put it on high heat to bring it to full heat / smoking point. Reduce the heat to medium and wait for 5 minutes. Check the temperature by adding a little bit of mixture in the hot oil carefully. If the mixture comes up within a few secconds, it means the oil is hot and ready for frying. Now add in the prepared chattambado, one at a time carefully. Do not overcrowd the kadai, there should be enough space left for them to get deep fried properly. Let it fry for 4-5 minutes. Now overturn and mix properly with a deep frying ringed spatulla. Keep rolling often to fry them evenly. Once they are fried to golden brown remove and keep in an absorbent tissue paper for the excess oil to drain off. Continue with the remaining mixture.

Serve these chattambado’s hot with some chutney or ketchup as a snack during tea time. Come winter season and most of saraswat house’s are filled with the aroma of chattambado during evening times when it is cold, dark and pouring heavily outside. Enjoy this snack this winter season with your family and friends. 

** Note: Usually rice is not added while preparing chattambado, i have added them here for crispiness as radish leaves are also added which may otherwise make it soft.