Vadacurry

This is a typical Tamilnadu dish. This is one of the favorite dishes of J and that inspired me to try this at home. The dish looks very rich and might seem difficult at first sight. But it is very simple and easy one and you can make within half an hour.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of Channa dal(Kadala paruppu) 
• 2 Red chillies
• 1 finely chopped Onion(big)
• 1 finely chopped tomato(big)
• Ginger garlic paste
• 1tbsp Coriander seeds 
• 1 tsp Saunf(Fennel seeds)
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 
• 2 tsp Grated coconut
• 4 red chillies
• 1/2 tsp Pepper corns(Optional for additional spice)
• Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves 
• Coriander leaves
• 2 tsp of lemon juice 

Pre-cooking

• Wash and soak the Channa dal overnight(8 hours) in normal water or in hot water for about 4 hours.

Method

Vadacurry = vada + curry.

Vadas cooked in a curry is what vadacurry is all about. Thats why I'm dividing this post into small parts so that it is easy to understand all the steps clearly. This is for my reference too!!

Part 1 - the vadas

• Drain the water from dal and grind along with 2 chilli coarsely like you do for vada.
• Steam the dal mixture in idli cooker. You can make them as small balls and place in the stand. Shape doesn't matter as long as it is steamed well.
• Take the steamed dal and crush them and keep them aside.(Thats why ..dont waste time in making a proper shaped ball :)..)

Part 2 - the grinding 

• Dry roast the ingredients in yellow color except coconut.
• Fry till the chillies turn black.
• Now add the grated coconut and switch off the flame.
• Mix everything and grind them to a fine paste after cooling ->Let us call this Grind 1
• Take a kadai and add little oil.
• Add half of the onions and fry them till golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a few minutes.
• Add half of the chopped tomatoes to this mixture and fry till tomatoes become soft.
• Grind this mixture along with Grind 1 to a smooth paste.

Part 3 - the curry

• Heat oil in a kadai and temper with the ingredients highlighted in green color.
• Add the remaining half of the onions and then tomatoes and saute them well.
• Once the onions turn brown add the ground paste from part 2 and mix them well.
• Add 2 cups of water and salt and bring this to a boil.
• Once it starts boiling check for the spices and add in the vadas from part 1 
• Cover the mixture with a lid and keep in low flame for a few minutes.
• After sometime you will see the oil oozing out and floating on top with grated coconut.
• Switch off the flame and add the lime juice.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serving suggestions

• Serve with hot idlis or Dosas.
• This is a very heavy dish and ideal for a breakfast or brunch.

Tips

• You can make the vadas the previous night and just add them while making the curry in the morning.
• Alternatively you can use leftover vadas for making the vadacurry. But it will not be very soft as it is crisp.

Sending this recipe to JFI at Siri's Corner