Cashewnut and Raisins ( Kismis / Dried grapes ) : as needed
Salt as needed
Cardomom : 4 or 5 seeds crushed
Baking soda : 1 pinch
Vattayappam preparation
Mix Rice flour, Grinded coconut, Grinded rice, Sugar, Mashed bananas, cardamom and salt well in a large bowl.
Add 1 pinch baking soda to the mix and keep it aside for 1 hour.
Mix well maida, egg, sugar in a mixer.
When the batter is ready mix the two solutions together and blend it thoroughly. Kept it idle for half an hour. (Make sure that the batter is not too loose )
Heat the idli cooker with half
Apply a little ghee/oil in a cake tin (idli cooker) & pour the batter into it.
Decorate with some cashew nuts and raisins on the the top.
Steam it for 20 – 25 minutes.
Cut into wedges and serve as evening snacks or as breakfast foods with spicy Chicken Curry, Mutton Curry or any curry of your choice.
Soak chana dal for 2-2.5 hours. Drain the water completely…
Pat dry the drained dal with a clean kitchen towel. Grind the dal in mixie for a few seconds. Please note that that the dal should be crushed and should not be made into a smooth paste.
Add all the other ingredients, except oil, to the dal and combine it gently. Make small balls with the dal mix.
Heat oil in a deep pan. Meanwhile, wet your hands and flatten each ball within your palms. When the oil is hot enough add the flattened dal mix…
Fry the vadas on low-medium heat, till it becomes crispy and a dark shade of brown. Drain the fried vadas on tissue paper…
Chana dal (split bengal gram/kadala parippu) – 2 cups
Onion – 1 big, finely chopped
Green chilli – 2-3, finely chopped
Ginger – 1-2 tsp, finely chopped
Fennel seeds – ¼ tsp (optional, refer notes)
Curry leaves – 3-4 stems, finely chopped
Kayam (asafetida) – ⅛ tsp
Salt
Oil
Instructions
Soak chana dal in water for 2 hours. Drain the water completely. Make sure that the water is dried well, pat dry the dal with a clean kitchen towel.
Crush the soaked and drained dal, just run it in mixie for a few seconds. Make sure you dont grind it to a smooth paste. Add all ingredients except oil to the crushed dal and gently mix it together. Make small balls with the dal mix (gooseberry size).
Heat oil for deep frying pan on high flame. When oil is really hot, reduce the flame to low-medium and add the vada. Before adding to the oil, just flatten each ball in your palm. Wet your hands before flattening the dough. It is better to flatten the dough just before adding to the oil, otherwise it may break.
Fry till the vadas (fritters) become golden brown or if you like it extra crispy, fry till you get a darker shade of brown. Drain excess oil on a tissue paper. Serve hot.
You will get around 20-25 parippu vadas of small-medium size, with the above qty.
Notes
It is better to make small size vada, so that it gets cooked well. If you want the authentic taste, use coconut oil.
It is important that the water is drained well, otherwise the batter may become runny and you will not be able to shape it well. But if your batter turn out to be runny, dont worry, just drop the batter into the oil using a spoon and fry in the same method.
We added fennel seeds to half the qty, as an experiment. It gives a different taste. It’s optional to add fennel seeds, may be you can also try adding it to a small qty and see whether you like it. If you are using, add it along with the onions and stuff.
If you want the vadas to be really crispy, fry it till it becomes a bit darker shade of brown.
In some places, they use peas dal for making this vada. So if you dont get hold of chana dal, you can try it with peas dal.
You can also make this in advance, if you want to make it in bulk. Cook the dal and crush it and keep. Chop the veggies. Refrigerate. Dont mix it together, since the water from onion can make the batter soggy. Mix everything together just before frying.
2. Mix well Kozhuva / Anchovy with 1 tsp ginger- garlic paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp pepper powder, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp fennel powder, salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Heat a pan with coconut oil , spread some curry leaves on it and put the Koshuva / Anchovy. Fry the fish in a low flame for 15 minutes each side. Cover the pan with a well-fitting lid for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to as low as possible. Serve hot.
TIPS:
* After cleaning the fish, put it in a pot with enough water, salt, and 1 tsp Turmeric powder for 10 minutes to minimise the unhealthy things often seafood contains. * After finishing the cooking put 1 tsp coconut oil over it for good flavour - If you like.
