N IS FOR NO FRY VADA

N IS FOR NO FRY VADA
I would not say I am extremely health conscious but when I can I do opt for lighter or healthier options... But deep frying in oil is something that I just dont like to do.. messy, oily etc etc I do however love the deep fried version of vada (when someone else prepares and cleans up... hehe). I have made dahi vada before using a dutch pancake pan (you know the pans with all the half circles in) on the stove top but I happened upon a donut pan and instantly thought... Vada in the oven.... can it be done???????

So you will need a donut baking tray for this recipe or I suppose you could use an electric donut maker appliance too. Easy enough to find in most bakeware or even some cheap shops...The donut bakeware has 12 donut spaces so this recipe yields 12 feel free to dble, triple or even half the recipe to suit demand.

WHAT YOU  NEED:
1 and 1/2 cups of urad dal (this needs to be washed and soaked for about 2 to 3 hours.
4 (more or less to suit taste) green chilllies
1heaped tsp of ginger/garlic paste
4 peppercorns
1 sprig of curry leaves
salt to taste
OPTIONAL: thinly sliced onions, coriander or additional thinly sliced chillies.

WHAT TO DO:
1. Once you have soaked the urad dal for 2 to 3 hours. Grind the urad dal, ginger/garlic paste,pepper, curry leaves with a little water. You need a smooth batter but not runny.
2. Set aside for ten minutes meanwhile heat oven to 170 celcuis and spray pan lighty with oil.
3.Spoon mixture into tray and bake till  lightly golden.
Serve immediately with sambhar, coconut pachadi or whatever you wish.....

VADA - NO FRY HEALTHY STYLE

VADA - NO FRY HEALTHY STYLE
Vada is a delicious savoury snack that can be served anytime with a variety of different sides. However deep frying is not something I really like to do so in my attempt to make it healthier and less standing over hot oil with a one year old attached to me I came up with no fry vada.... OVEN STYLE. But how to keep the traditional shape I hear you say. Doughnut baking tray is the answer!!!! Specially designed to make doughnuts in the oven I thought why not make vada in it after all they kind of just a savoury doughnut.

WHAT YOU NEED:
About 200g of skinless urid dal (soaked for at least 7 hours and ground into a paste)
salt to taste
pinch of asafoetida
1 small onion finely chopped.(optional)
sprig of curry leaves (optional)
green chillies finely diced (optional and too taste)
cumin seeds (optional and to taste)

WHAT TO DO:
1. Preheat the oven to 150 celcuis conventional and grease the doughnut bakeware.
2. Mix the paste of the urad dal and add salt and other optional ingrediants.
3. Spoon into greased tray and smooth over and wipe any excess away.
4. Bake in oven till crisp and brown on the outside. I flipped them half way through about at ten mins so that they browned evenly but this is not necessary.
Serve with sambhar, coconut chutney, ketchup or basically anything that takes your fancy.

DAHI VADA

DAHI VADA - HEALTHY STYLE

Typical North Indian dish usually fried lentil dumplings in a spiced yoghurt. My version is an attempt to make it healthier by not frying the vada.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 1/2 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
small pinch of sugar
1 medium salad onion finely diced
1 medium carrot finely grated
3 tablespoons tamarind chutney (You can add more if you wish)
FOR THE VADA:
3/4 cup of moong dal (washed and soaked overnight or at least 6 hours)
1/4 cup urad dal (washed and soaked overnight or for at least 6 hours)
salt to taste
pinch of baking soda


WHAT YOU DO:
1. Whisk the yoghurt with a little water or milk and add the salt, roasted cumin powder, sugar and red chilli powder.
2. Add the finely grated carrot and the diced salad onion. Set aside in the fridge.
3. Blend the soaked dals into a smooth paste and add the salt and the pinch of baking soda and whisk and set aside for 15 to 20 mins. Vada batter should be light and fluffy not thick or runny.
4. Now typical the batter would be shaped into doughnut shapes and deep fried but in my health version I use a dutch pancake pan or appam mould pan.
5. heat oil and deep fry till golden or heat appam mould pan/dutch pancake pan and lightly spray with oil and fill each mould with mixture and cook on one side then using a sharp ladle or spoon flip each vada over to finish cooking on the other side.
6. Place cooked vada in a bowl and pour the yoghurt, spice, carrot and onion mix over the vada and allow to soak in.
7. Drizzle tamarind chutney over the top.
OPTIONAL
1. Add bondi or sev bhuji over the top for an extra crunch.
2. Garnish with coriander leaves

Spinach Pakora

SPINACH PAKORA
A yummy way to eat your greens!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 bunch Spinach OR 500G packet of frozen spinach defrosted (finely chopped)

1 medium onion (finelt diced)

2 heaped tsps of ginger garlic paste

1/2 cup besan flour (may need more if using frozen spinach)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of red chili powder

1 green chili (finely sliced - the smaller you cut it the hotter the end result)(optional)

salt to taste (aprox 1 tsp)

Pinch of sugar

Oil for frying

WHAT YOU DO:
1. In a large bowl mix together all dry ingrediants.
2. Add the spinach, ginger/garlic paste and onion and mix together.
3. The batter should be very thick not dry though. You may need to add a dash of water to get the right consistency but make sure not to make it too runny should be clumpy and thick.
4. Heat oil and once hot add spoonfuls of the spinach mixture and fry till crisp and cooked.
Serve immediately with your choice of chutney, ketchup or even sweeet chilli!!!

Onion Pakora

ONION PAKORA
A hot snack made with pantry staples!!! Add heat by throwing in a finely diced green or red chilli else omit for a delicious crunchy snack. Serve with tomato ketchup or sweet chilli. Great on a rainy day...

WHAT YOU NEED: (SERVES 2)
Aprox 80g besan flour
Aprox 20g rice flour
Pinch of bicarb soda
1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ajwain
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 - 2 green chilli finely diced (omit if desired)
1 large onion sliced in half rings
salt to taste
aprox 100 mls of water
Oil for deep frying

WHAT TO DO:
1. In a large bowl sift besan flour and mix in salt, bicarb soda, rice flour, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain seeds.
2. Slice chillies and onions and mix into the dry flour mix till well combined.
3. Slowly add the water till a thick batter is formed and the onions and chillies are thoroughly coated.
4. Heat oil. Oil needs to be med heat. When the oil is hot spoon spoonfuls if the mixture into the hot oil.
5. Cook till the pakoras are golden brown and crisp.
6. Drain on paper towel and serve hot with ketchup or sweet chilli.

Egg and Carrot Pakora

EGG AND CARROT PAKORA
A yummy version of this fried snack. Delicious served with hot with sweet chilli sauce.

WHAT YOU NEED:
3 eggs
2 finely chopped onion
1-2 large carrot finely grated
salt to taste
1 to 3 green chillies - finely diced (to your liking)
150 grams of besan flour (you may need a little more to ensure a thick batter)
Up to 2 cups of water
Oil for frying

WHAT TO DO:
1. Mix salt, besan flour and water to a smooth and thick batter.
2. Add eggs, green chilli, onion and grated carrot.
3. Mix to combine and adjust water and besan to get a thick smooth thick batter. At this point you may add more carrot or onion if you wish if you prefer a higher veg to batter ratio.
4. Heat enough oil in a pan  to deep fry.
5. Once hot take spoonfuls of the mixture and careful place in the hot oil.
6. Cook till golden brown. Remove drain on paper.
7. Sprinkle some salt over top and serve hot with sweet chilli or ketchup!!!!!

Parippu Vada

PARIPPU VADA
A delicious and crunchy snack.......

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 cup of chana dal or tour dal. I used half cup of each dal.
1 onion -  finely diced
Pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbs ginger and garlic paste
salt to taste
1- 2 sliced green chilli (optional - to suit your taste)
Besan flour (I found my mixture too wet at end so added enough besan flour to make it dry so that it did not fall apart while deep frying)
curry leaves (optional)
Oil for deep frying

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Wash and soak dals for 3 to 4 hours. Drain and remove as much water as possible. Shaking in a sieve is a good way to do this.
2. Coarse grind the dals with the fennel seeds.
3. Mix in the finely diced onion, salt, green chilli, ginger/garlic paste, asafoetida and curry leaves.
4. Heat oil
5. With wet hands take spoonfuls on the mixture and mould into round slightly flat fritter shapes and gently slide into oil.
6. Fry till golden brown. If the fritters are falling apart in the oil this means that the mixture is too wet. Add some besan flour till the mixture is drier and try again.
7. Serve hot.

Soya Pakora

SOYA PAKORA
Yummy snack for anytime with the added nutrition of soya (I used nutrela).

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 cup of soya chunks cooked( as per directions on pack) and make sure to squeeze excess water out and then slice.
1 cup of besan flour
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
1-2 finely diced green chillies ( optional)
Finely diced coriander leaves
pinch of chilli powder
pinch of turmeric
pinch of bicarb soda
pinch of cardomon powder
salt to taste
water (to make a batter)

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Cook soya chunks as per direction on the packet and drain, squeeze out excess water and then dice or shred.
2. Mix besan flour with spices and slowly add a little water to make a thick paste. ( be careful not to make it too runny as if the soya still has too much water in the mixture will become very runny).
3. Add ginger garlic paste, green chilli, onion and coriander leaves. Followed by soya chunks and mix to combine. Should be a thick enough batter that a spoon can only just stand up but not too thick that the mixture will not fall off the spoon easily.
4. Set aside for 20 mins to allow the soya to absorb the flavours.
5. Heat oil and deep fry spoonfuls till golden brown and serve immediately.

Chekodi

CHEKODI (SAVOURY SNACK)
This is a great snack to make a huge batch of and keep incase of unexpected guests!!! (Stores in an airtight container in the pantry).

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 cup Rice Flour
1 cup Water
1-1/2 to 2 tbsp of yellow moong dal (soak for an hour)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp - Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tbsp Ghee or oil
Salt to taste (You do need to try the mixture as you slowly increase the salt as it is very easy to over salt)
Oil for deep frying
(You can reduce the spices to suit your taste buds)

WHAT TO DO
1. In a pan  (preferably a deep and heavy based one- needs a lid) heat the water, ghee and salt till boiling point.
2. Add the soaked moong dal
3. Slowly beat the rice flour into the mixture till all the water is mixed and the moong dal is combined.
4. Immediately remove from heat and place a tight lid on and set aside for aprox 20 mins.
5. Add the spices to the mixture and adjust the salt. Make sure to mix well so the spices are evenly distributed.
6. While the oil is heating take small handfuls of the mixture and mould into ring shapes(Dont make them too fat as they wont cook properly in the middle). Making sure to keep mixture covered as it does tend to dry out.
7. Once oil is hot (not too hot as this will just burn the outside) slowly add the chekodi rings to the oil a few at a time. (Do not add too many as this will reduce the oil temp and cause the chekodi to be too oily)
8. Once golden brown remove from oil and drain on paper and then store in an airtight container).