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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Savoury Vadai



















Divali /Deepavali - The Festival of Light , falls on 5th of November which is just around the corner, barely 10 days from now.  It will be a public holiday for Malaysia - a country with many different cultures and many of my Indian colleagues are getting ready to celebrate this festival and we always look forward to the Diwali delicacies during this celebration. A festival with the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify good over evil .

I would like to wish all my  readers , friends and colleagues celebrating Divali or known as Deepavali over here in Malaysia  " Happy Deepavali " .  I know I am a bit early in wishing all of you this but I am in the mood to start the celebration early with you :)
To celebrate together with my Indian friends I made some Vadai  for our snack . Vadai ( pronounced as Va - dey )  is a traditional South Indian food usually served as a morning food . It is made from dal lentils , soak and grind into a wet paste and subsequently mixed with sea salt,  chopped onions, red chillies , curry leaves and fennel seeds. You can either shaped it like a dough nut or just make a ball and deep fried in hot oil. The end result should not be oily if it is prepared correctly , for the steam build up within the vadai pushes all the oil away from within the vadai.



















Vadai are preferably eaten freshly fried while it is still hot and crunchy and eaten together with coconut chutney and sambar .  I love South Indian food and Daddy and I would indulge in South Indian food very often for our Saturday lunch. Anyway back to this Vadai,  my colleague bought the ready to mix dal lentil paste from an Indian shop in Buntong  for me and all I have to do is to add onions, fennel seeds, chilli and curry leaves and salt . Deep fried them and tada.... a plate of  aromatic vadai served for our snacks. Crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside with every bite so flavorful that we can't stop snacking .












the ready to mix dal lentils paste has made
it easy for me ...all I have to do is add the five
ingredients..curry leaves, chilli, onions 
and fennel seeds and salt. This dough is a bit
too soft for me to shape into dough nut so
I use two spoons to shape them into round balls
and slowly drop them into the hot oil









if prepared correctly it should not be oily
and mine was well prepared :p
not oily, it turned out crispy on the outside
and soft fluffy and flavorful on the inside...yummyumm

every bite is full of flavor from the fennel seeds and curry leaves
I am already feeling the Diwali festival while snacking on these vadai :)
especially homemade ones!

You can make your own dal lentil paste
Soak dal lentil for an hour or more
then grind into fine paste with a food processor.


Enjoy !



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25 comments:

  1. Your vadai looks really good! It's puffing! How'd you do that?

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  2. I love having warm vadai from the deep frying wok. The outer is crispy and the inside is very fluffy and of coz, the curry aroma just something to die for. I will buy this whenever I visit to Melaka. But if 'da bao' home, it doesn't taste the same after cool. Must try to make this some day. So that I can enjoy hot vadai whenever I want. ^_^ Have a great day! Btw, my in-law's birthday is on the same day too. Yes, Every year she celebrates her bd on Dewali.
    Kristy

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  3. Not too sure whether I've eaten these...but I'm sure my daughter would love it. She loves anything that's deep fried. We can try making those when she comes home for the hols...

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  4. Ooo Elin, these look so good! I've never heard of them before though :) Thank you for sharing! And a big thank you to My Little Space for a little bonus description too.

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  5. These look great. They are like an Indian hushpuppy.

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  6. 愛 - ちゃん - regarding the fluffy texture, I bought the ready to mix fresh lentil paste from the Indian stall so not sure what else is in the paste :p My colleague told me that we must soak the dal lentils in water for at least 24 hours, changing the water frequently before we grind them in the food proccessor. It will be fluffy too. I have yet to try it . When time permits I will try making my own and then will share them on my blog .

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  7. Elin, I like this savoury Vadai too, use ready to mix sound like a good idea, might try one day.

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  8. Kristy...I guess most Malaysian will love this finger food and snacks or breakfast food. I love to eat this straight at the Indian restaurant with their sambar ...hot and crispy and the aroma from the it ...see now you make me hungry just thinking of it :)

    let me wish your MIL , Happy Birthday and many happy returns fo the day ! Good health always too !


    Arthur....tsk tsk how come you have eaten this before..come to Ipoh and I will take you to the Indian shop for the biggest Vadai and the best curry to go with it :)
    Are you sure...it comes in doughnut shaped. I am sure Melissa will love it. She is coming back for her hols...waaaa the Daddy waiting patiently and I guess you must be excited to see her again..the apple of your eyes :)

    Roxan....:) thanks to Kristy for the more detailed description of this Indian snack .

    The LonelyRadish....hahaha do they ?

    Eat Greek... I love your greek soup that you posted up but can't get those ingredients over here :( so can only droool through the Windows :p thanks for dropping by.

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  9. I have not eaten this for many many yrs, like feel like having some.

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  10. Mmm...I can smell the vadai from here. Sounds so delicious and easy.
    Thanks for sharing, Elin :)

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  11. I think it's time for me to hunt for some vadai, the kacang putih man may have them, if I'm not wrong. Haven't had them for years!

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  12. OOOH yum This is soo good! I want to make it soon..really soon. thanks for sharing :)

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  13. Hi there!

    That dish looks yummy! I like fried stuff. :)

    Thank you for sharing information about the festival.

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  14. I love these, so thank you for sharing the recipe! I can't wait to hear more about the upcoming festivities!

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  15. i have not eaten vadai before..let me go and buy and try first..and if i like, i might try making them.thank you for sharing this!

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  16. oh I haven't had this in ages!! Yours look so fluffy!

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  17. These really look wonderful! Beautiful photos!

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  18. Instead of making it, I used to buy the ready made Vadai from canteen. :)

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  19. Jess....this is quite addictive :)

    Anncoo...the aroma of these vadai filled the whole house while being fried in the wok :p

    Cheah...there is one mamak shop opp Celcom , Greentown business centre that sells the best vadai...big one costs a dollar each ...dip into their sambar..yummy

    Zurin... Yeah, please make some and let us have your recipe :))

    HalfCrazy..thanks for dropping by...me too love deep fired food but have to cut down on them now :(

    Belinda@Zomppa...sure :)

    Lena...do try..dal lentil are rich in protein ...good for growing kids :) and homemade ones are healthier ( I am sure you know what I mean - the oil )

    Ann....I bought the ready to mix fresh grinded dal lentils ...so much easier for making the vadai :) I guess you must miss this Indian delicacy :)

    Emily :) sure you will love this..yummy too :)

    Dimah...thank you for dropping by :)

    Little Inbox....yup, I do buy them but since they have the ready to mix fresh ones, I would prefer to deep fried them myself...the oil is much healthier :) My Piggy clan can eat lots so homemade ones are welcomed :)

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  20. I love vadai and yours are deep fried to perfection!

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  21. Love South Indian food, I could literally smell the curry leaves as I read your post! Quite sure there's baking soda in the readymade mixes, hence the puffy texture.

    Thanks for sharing...no better way to celebrate Diwali than deep fried goodies! :)

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  22. Elin, these are such a great finger food! They look so good!

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  23. Biren....thanks :)

    Foodonymph...yeah, I guess they put added in baking powder to the ready mix paste :)

    Angie...yes..vadai are great finger food and once started I can't stop eating them ..that addictive :p

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