“Pikkile PagilaBee- Piyava Chettambado (Ripened Spine Gourd Seeds- Onions- Chana Dal Fritters)” ... preparing chettambado; a delicacy from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine giving them my own twist is always exciting; more so when they turn out perfect making it worthwhile ... these crisp deep fried fritters can be served either during meals with dal- chawal or at teatime with some coconut chutney/ ketchup … it’s the season of pagila/ spine gourd and there are always some stubborn ones that ripen which we hesitate to chuck out … I strongly believe in no wastage of food and try to think of ways to turn them into something equally delicious … I gave a small twist and prepared these fritters that turned out excellent, crisp outward and soft within … next time you end up with some ripened spine gourd don’t discard them, give this recipe a try; it is truly delicious, sure to be loved by all … Yummilicious …
** For those new to this dish called “Chettambado”, it is a deep fried fritter from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine often prepared with Chana Dal (Bengal Gram Dal) along with spices and other ingredients. It is usually referred to as “Dal Vada” in northern parts and the recipe is almost similar to chettambado. It is a favorite snack that is usually served with coconut chutney for best of taste though it can be served as side dish during meals too. A delicious deep- fried fritter that you can just not say NO to and be it children, youngsters or older ones they all love it very much. During Diwali I prepare and keep this mixture ready in fridge so that they can be fried and served hot to guests.
** Seasonal veggies are a favorite and at times you go overboard in purchase and this happens often in case of Pagila/ Kantola/ Spine Gourd. With the enthusiasm of preparing all favorite dishes before they disappear from the market I always, end up having a stock that slowly begins to ripe before I can finish it often. While I was new to cooking, I always discarded them and as slowly over the decades, I began to think of ways to prepare them without wastage and using the ripe ones to make tasty dishes has been one of them. I have prepared and shared sannapolo (small spicy dosas) before which turned out very tasty too, you may browse through and try it out too.
** Today, I have prepared these once again with the otherwise waste ripe pagila (spine gourd/ kantola) along with onions and prepared them as chettambado the standard recipe of which is prepared with chana dal (Bengal gram dal). You can skip addition of onions if you do not want to add them; however, the crunch and flavors, gives it a unique taste especially when deep fried. Without running into more details, let me now just go ahead with the recipe of this chettambado. Do try it and enjoy with your family and friends, sure to be loved by all. For more reference you can always browse through and check out the other recipes where plenty of pictures are included for reference.
** Here is my own simple recipe for “Gabbe- Piyava Chettambado (Plantain/ Banana Stem- Onion Fritters)” … My Style, try it, tastes great ….
** Ingredients :
Chana Dal/ Bengal gram dal : 1 cup
Pikkile Pagila Bee (Ripe Kantola/ Spine Gourd/ Teasel Gourd Seeds) : 1 cup
Rice Powder/ Tandla Pitti : ¼ cup or more, as is required
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 2 medium sized
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ¼ cup freshly grated
Kashmiri Red Chilly/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 10-12
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : a small pinch
Hing/ Asfoetida Powder : 1 tsp
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Oil/ Tela/ Tela : as required for deep frying.
** Wash and soak Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram Dal in plenty of water for 2-3 hrs. Drain off the water and once again, wash well and then add it into a colander and keep it aside for 25-30 minutes for all of the excess water to drain.
** Note : Draining of all excess water is a very important step for preparation of perfect textured chettambados as we need to grind it evenly to a coarse texture without any traces of water, so do not skip this step.
** Remove the inner red seeds of ripened pagila, I had about 1 cup. Rinse well under running water in a colander and keep it aside for the excess water to be drained off. Do not worry if the seeds are very crisp after grinding coarsely it hardly matters. Also if need be you can add a few whole pagila that have turned yellow too.
** Note : If you have plenty of Pagila the skin of which has turned yellow, do not discard them. Just wash them well taking care to see all dirt particles are removed, pat dry, cut into ½ inch sized pieces. Apply a little bit oil and then either air-fry/ micro wave them or you can deep fry them until crisp. You can prepare kismuri either salad way or with addition of masala for which you can check out the preparation method on link provided at the bottom of this recipe. Try it, it tastes wonderful, also no wastage.
** Remove the outer skin of Piyavu/ Onion, finely chop them and keep it aside ready. You may increase a little bit of onions if desired.
** Add drained chana dal into food processor grinder or mixer grinder along with red chilly cut to pieces, coconut, tamarind and grind to a semi coarse mixture WITHOUT ADDING WATER. Mix all ingredients well often in between the grinding process to get evenly ground mixture. The ground dal- rice should be of rava consistency, so be careful and avoid grinding it to a fine ground paste. Keep it aside ready.
** Note : I do not add any water while grinding chettambado mixture, the very purpose for which I use my food processor which gives excellent results when it comes to coarse grinding without water. However, in case you are using mixer grinder and it is becoming difficult to grind then just sprinkle some water in between grinding and mixing if absolutely necessary only. I repeat, the ground final mixture should be rava like grainy texture and should come to binding consistency when rolled in palm and in no way should turn out to be a paste to get perfect texture chettambado while deep-frying.
** Add the picked, washed and drained pagila seeds into mixer grinder. You can add a few skin portions too that have turned yellow if any. Grind to a semi coarse mixture WITHOUT ADDING WATER. Remove and add ground mixture to the ground chana dal into a wide bowl along with finely chopped onion, hing powder, salt to taste and mix well. Now add Rice Flour a little at a time and keep mixing until you get a binding consistency. The chettambado when rolled into balls should turn out smoother without breaking up or giving cracks. This is the correct mixture to get perfect chettambado’s
** Note : If you find it a difficult to prepare vadas without cracking up you can keep the mixture in fridge for 25-30 minutes and then try out for easier binding. I do not keep it in fridge as with practice, you learn to gently roll it between palms but you may do so if desired or need to prepare them later or after a few hours. You can also prepare and keep the mixture in fridge overnight if you have guests next day.
** To Prepare Chettambado/ Vadas/ Fritters : Take about 2-3 tblsp of prepared mixture in hand depending upon the size of chettambado you desire, roll it to a smooth ball shape, gently press it slightly to flatten evenly without building in cracks. Prepare and keep a few ready to be fried while the oil in kadai gets heated.
** Note : If the mixture still cracks up when rolling into chettambados or is still too soft to be rolled on resting then add a few tablespoons of either rice flour or besan (Bengal gram flour) to the mixture, mix well and prepare the vadas.
** Note : If you are new to preparing vadas, then remember to prepare a few vadas and keep ready on a plate to be fried while the oil is being heated. Also, once you add them to oil and it is being fried, prepare and keep the next batch of chettambado rolled and ready for easy frying. Once you are used to this method, then you learn to prepare them fast and add into hot oil as they are done simultaneously.
** For Deep Frying the Chettamados : When the oil reaches smoking point, lower the heat to minimum and wait for few minutes. Add in the prepared chettambados one by one gently into the oil. Do not overcrowd the kadai as there should be enough space for them to get evenly fried. Raise the heat to medium and fry evenly until it turns crispy on all sides and cooked well from within by flipping it often.
** Note : If you are new to deep frying method and are unsure of the temperature of oil, then drop a small droplet of the mixture into the hot oil for checking the right temperature required for perfect frying of vadas. If the pieces sinks down to the bottom and then in a few seconds sizzles and comes up the surface then it is of the right heat. If it sinks to the bottom for more than 15-20 seconds it means the oil needs to be heated a little bit more. These are small tricks you learn on practice so don’t worry, just go ahead.
** It takes about 8-10 minutes to be done, when done remove with a slotted/ ringed spatula, draining off excess oil and put it on an absorbent paper for the excess oil to be drained off completely. Continue preparing with the remaining mixture in similar way in batches to prepare the required number of chettambados taking care to see that the heat of oil is constantly maintained by increasing if necessary or decreasing if too hot which is a very important step while frying any snacks like Vadas/ Ambados etc.
** “Pikkile PagilaBee- Piyava Chettambado (Ripened Spine Gourd Seeds- Onions- Chana Dal Fritters)” is done and ready to be served. Always serve chettambado hot immediately on frying, at tea time as a snack with some coconut chutney or any other chutney/ dip or tomato ketchup for best taste. You can serve it during meals along with other items too or as a starter during events, it tastes awesome either way you serve it, just give it a try, I am sure your family and friends will love them.
** Chettambado is our favorite dish at home and I often prepare it with variations as is the veggies available or in season and each one of them have turned out equally tasty. We simple love to relish these more so during lunchtime as is it usually served in my community, however, my friends love it as snack. Children simply gorge on them, so be prepared to have them in plenty to avoid disappointments especially if they bring along their friends too. Do try it out and enjoy with your family and friends.
** As I had already posted step by step procedure in many of the chettambado recipes, I have not included the same here. Sharing a link of taikile chettambado recipe that includes pictures which will enable you to grasp the same better if need be. Also sharing a common link to all chettambado recipes posted in my Blog to date, do browse through the same and try out that which appeals to you; they all taste great ….
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