Taikile (Takla) Chettambado / Fritters.

Taikile Chettambado / Fritters …… Taikilo (in Konkani) or Takla (in Maharashtra) is a monsoon leafy vegetable …. We usually prepare Dangara a sort of fritter adding finely chopped leaves along with spices, tuvar dal and Rice …… Today I prepared Chettambado, again another type of common fritters made using chana dal to which I added in these leaves ….. totally yummy with crisp texture outside and soft within …… Yumz.

Chettambado is a favorite GSB / Saraswat Konkani snack usually served at tea time or at lunch time too along with Dalitoy (Spiced Tuvar Dal) and Sheetha (Rice) . This is similar to dal vada. Chana dal is soaked and then ground coarsely. Spices etc; are added to the same and mixture is deep fried to get crispy vadas. Onions are also added somethimes to this by finely chopping the same. 

I have already posted 2-3 types of chettambado long back. Wanted to do some variations in the same. So here I have added taikilo / takla a monsoon leafy vegetable chopped finely to the same. Taikilo is prepared in similar way but with the addition of tuvar dal and is called Dangara by Amchies which I have posted but with radish leaves. Here the variation is only on dal. I have used chana dal instead of tuvar dal. The result is an awesome crispy vada with soft center nice to bite on especially on a rainy day. 

Wash and soak 2 cups of chana dal in plenty of water for 2 hrs. Drain well; the excess water should be completely drained off. So put it in a colander for 25-30 minutes for the water to drain off properly. 

Pick off only leaves from the taikilo / takla and chop to fine pieces. Wash well and squeeze out all excess water. Put this in a large stainless steel bowl. 

Put the drained chana dal leaving a handful aside to be added on later into the food processor grinder or mixer. Grind the chana dal, with 6-8 red chillies(chopped), to a coarse paste. Do not add in any water. If absolutely necessary just sprinkle some while grinding. The paste should be rava like grainy texture and should come to binding consistency when rolled in palm. 

Add the ground chana dal and also the soaked and reserved aside chana dal into the bowl in which you have added the chopped leaves. Add about 10 fresh curry leaves chopped finely. Add a large tablespoon full of prepared hing water* or 1 tsp of hing powder. Now add in salt to taste and a large tablespoon of rice powder and mix well. 

The mixture should come to a binding consistency. You should be able to prepare small chettambados / tikki out of them without them breaking open. Do not add in any water for the same. If you still find it a difficult you can keep the mixture in fridge for 15-25 minutes and then try out the same. I have not kept it in the fridge as with practice you will learn to gently roll it between palms. 

Take about 2 tablespoons of mixture in hand, roll it to a smooth ball shape, and gently press it to fatten evenly. No cracks should appear. If they do that means the mixture in too dry. Sprinkle some water, mix well, then shape into balls, and flatten them. Prepare 6-7 and keep them ready on a plate.

Heat plenty of oil for deep-frying in thick bottomed Iron kadai or any other you usually use. When the oil reaches smoking point, lower the heat to minimum and wait for 4-5 minutes. Add in the vadas gently each at a time, do not overcrowd the kadai as there should be enough space for the vadas to get evenly fried. 

Raise the heat to medium and fry evenly till crispy on all sides It takes about 8-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spatula, drain off excess oil and put it on an absorbent paper for the excess oil to drain off completely. Prepare the remaining mixture in similar way in batches to make the vadas. 

Tailile / Takla Chettambado is ready to be served. Serve the vadas / chattambado hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice or you can simply serve this with Dalitoy and Rice as I did.

* Note : For Preparing Hing Water : Hing water is prepared by putting a small marble sized gummy hing (available in South Indian Stores) into a glass bottle and adding about a small cup of boiled and cooled water to it. Within a few hours the hing will slowly melt and you will get a thick whitish liquid. This is hing water. You can keep this in the fridge and use sparingly as and when needed. We GSB / Sarawath Konkani people usually prepare the same and keep it in the fridge always and use the same for dal, patrado or any other humman etc.