Keera Vadai / Lentils and Spinach Vada Recipe

What better way to start a Monday than talk about deep fried snacks?

However, this recipe, like a few others, is going to begin with a disclaimer. I don't claim that this is the authentic keera vadai recipe that all Tamilians are probably proud of. I used what I had in the pantry and whatever took the fancy.

What I can guarantee is that its super simple and very crunchy. An ideal, quick tea-time snack.

Its also quite crazy in a way that you can customize all you want.

I used amaranth leaves / mulai keerai. I like the flavour and use it in pretty much all dishes that call for spinach / keerai.

This picture reminds me how long back I made this recipe.

My cutting board is not even close to its original colour that's seen here!

I also used channa dal / kadala paruppu in this recipe although most vadai recipes call for toor dal or peas paruppu, which amma is what most South Indian restaurants use because its a much cheaper alternative to the expensive toor dal.

Soaked Channa Dal

I love the way it brings a smile on TH's face when I talk deep frying. Something about dunking stuff into hot oil and then eating it makes that man happy. So happy that he even stood by patiently while I took 83 different angles of the following picture.

Lentil and Spinach Vadai / Keera Vadai Recipe

Makes about 18-20

What I Used:

2 cups channa dal / kadala paruppu

1 bunch spinach leaves, tough stalks removed

1 onion, finely chopped

2 green chillies, finely chopped

1" piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped

10-12 curry leaves, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

How I Made It:

1. Clean and soak the chana dal in water for an hour. Meanwhile, wash spinach and place in a pan over lot heat until the leaves wilt. Then, chop finely.

2. Once soaked, drain completely and pulse the dal in a mixer or food processor into a coarse paste. To give the vadai some texture, I keep about 1 tbsp dal aside and add it after pulsing the rest.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

4. Shape into lime-sized balls and flatten slightly. Deep fry in oil until golden brown. Drain and serve hot with chutney.

I haven't posted the recipe for this chutney before so here goes:

For the Coconut Chutney:

Grind together 1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen but not dessicated), 1 green chilli, a small piece of tamarind, 2 shallots and salt with very little water. I also added some fresh coriander leaves to this but its optional. We love the flavour so if I have fresh coriander leaves, I always add them.

I make this chutney very often and it goes well with dosa, idly and even medhu vadai.

Potato and Oyster Mushroom Curry

Tonight's recipe is the part two of my trio of posts on the new Indian dishes I made to branch out beyond my old favourites. It is based on a recipe that calls for shrimp, but uses oyster mushrooms instead. You could just use white or cremini mushrooms, but oyster mushrooms really are a treat because of their delicate texture and taste. This is also a quick and simple meal that can be on the table in about 30 mins. You will also note the naan sneaking into the picture (and in my last post). I use this recipe which is hands down the best I have ever made and is pretty close to the stuff actually baked in a tandoor oven.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, halved and sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 8 oz oyster mushrooms, cut into large pieces
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 lb potatoes, cut into small chunks
- 2 large tomatoes, small dice
- 1/2 cup water, more if needed
- 1 tsp lemon juice

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry onions and cilantro for 5-7 mins, until soft and translucent. Add mushrooms, salt, and spices. Fry for about 5 mins, until mushrooms release their water. Add a splash of water if spices stick too much.
2. Add potatoes, tomatoes, and water and mix well. Bring to bubbling, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 mins, until potatoes are cooked. Add more water if it gets too dry, then stir in lemon juice and serve.

Amma's Garden and How I Miss It

Posts like these make want to curl up on my bed sucking coconut candy. I start thinking in long lines of 'what ifs' and drive TH nuts! And what do I do to make this better? Have one of my own so that I can look at it next time I feel like turning into a recluse and crying my eyes out.

Or something like that.

My mom has a green thumb. She loves plants and plants love her. I remember the days we used to have dinner on the terrace of our old house and her picking out the leeches from the orchid plants with her bare fingers and dropping them into the coconut shell with rock salt in it. Did I mention with her bare fingers? Yeah, my mom is like that.

Now we have very little space around our house in Kottayam but she still manages to squeeze in maximum stuff. The plot is only 8cents (that's how we measure in Kerala) including the area the house is on, half of which is tiled, so there's very little soil area.

Yet, she has green chillies..

There's nothing like the flavour of fresh green chillies. Nothing! Ok, except fresh coriander leaves. But that's the only exception, really.

She has tomatoes. Whenever she makes sambar, she just steps out of the house and comes back with a fresh tomato in her hand to drop it in. Oh man..

Any self-respecting malayali (aka mallu), even pseudo ones like us, has to have a coconut tree. So we have one. Just one, but its more than enough as you can see.

This papaya plant has a story behind it. Long (a bit longer than I'd like) back when I went on a college trip to Ooty, I brought back some seeds from a roadside seller. That's right, papaya seeds. He claimed its for seedless, hydbrid, short papayas that are red inside and I, of course, believed him. Although it turned out nothing like he described, amma swears they taste "different". She loves me, that mother of mine!

Bananas! But of course. This is njaali poovan. And I am too lazy to find out what its called in English.

Bougainvilla. I hear that these days, bougainvilla are no longer considered fancy. But I love them. Amma says if you give them some good chaanakam (dried cow dung), lots of sunlight and enough water, nothing is as low maintenance and they are so pretty. Sadly, she only has about 4-5 pots now and this orange is a rare colour.

Ah. Drumstick leaves. They are painful to prepare before cooking and smell horrible when raw (or is it just me) but you gotta love them drumstick leaves.

Psstt.. this is our neighbour's tree. But they share. In fact they insist we share. True story.

Betel leaves aka vetta. Although we don't have any 'chewers' in the house and we are not very religious back home, amma loves having this around. That's the base of the coconut tree, btw, next to which she also has curry leaves.

These are my doing, these basil shoots. Thanks Deeba! Amma is helping me take care of them because I knew for a fact that without sunlight, I'd kill all the ones I try to grow in Singapore.

Now let me go grab the coconut candies and hit the bed.

Happy weekend y'all ;)