Maddur vade - a deep fried crunchy snack

For the longest time ever, I was firm on the fact that I would NEVER make maddur vade. Why? Because I had always thought of it as Madura vada.....which literally translates into sweet vada....and the idea of making a vada that is sweet somehow never appealed to me. All this was before I learned that it is actually Maddur vade, and that Maddur is the name of a place in Karnataka and that it is famous for these vadas. A google search threw up several recipes. I narrowed down on this recipe at Chitra Amma's Kitchen.

What you need:
Rava/sooji/semolina - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1 tbsp
Rice flour - 3 tbsp
Onion - 2, medium sized
Salt - to taste
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (adjust to taste)
Curry leaves - a few
Corriander leaves - a little
Hot oil - 1 tbsp
Oil - for deep frying

Coarsely grind the chillies, curry leaves and corriander in the mixie. Do not grind it too fine. The aim is only to crush these ingredients a little. Alternately, you could chop them really fine.
Transfer this to a large mixing bowl, and add the onions,rava,maida, rice flour and salt. Mix well. Pour hot oil over this and blend with a spoon.
Sprinkle water little by little and knead to a firm, soft dough. Take care to not add too much water.
Heat oil in a kadai. Pinch out small balls of the dough. Flatten slightly between your palms and deep fry until brown on both sides.
I made these slightly smaller and thicker than the pictures in the original recipe indicate. This was done intentionally, as I thought smaller vadas would appeal to the little girl and her friend.
What I think of the dish:
This is a great snack. I just wish I hadn't waited this long to try it out. The quantities given here make 12 vades and these got polished off in almost no time at all. This is something I will be making again.....and again.....and again. The vada tastes wonderful by itself, though it can also be eaten with ketchup or chutney.
Thank you Dibs for sharing this recipe.

This goes to Champa who is hosting Kids' delight - mini bites, an event started by Srivalli.

Do take a look at my fellow marathoners to see what they are up to.

Muringa ila vada (Drumstick leaves vada)

I live in a city where, during summer you can hear people(me included) groaning about the sweat and the heat, and when it rains, people start talking about how difficult the commute is and how horribly waterlogged the roads are.
I love the rains. I don't mind wading through muddy puddles or getting a little wet. As long as there are no old-I-will-give-you-free-advice types around, I let my daughter play about in puddles and walk in the rain without an umbrella. Mother nature never did me any harm when I was growing up and I am sure she will be just as benevolent with this generation.
Now, the rain sometimes makes me act uncharacteristically. While I love snacking, I very rarely bother to make snacks. However, the rain today had me craving for some hot, sweet, cardamom laden tea and a crisp snack. I soaked some dal to make parippu vada and then thought of adding drumstick leaves to it and turning it into muringa ila(drumstick leaf) vada. I am sure Google will tell me that someone else has had this wonderful brainwave before me, so I am not going to Google to find out if muringa ila has ever been added to vada before. Until I get a comment that tells me otherwise and breaks my bubble, I am going to be happy with "my" snack.

Here's what you need:
Tuar dal - 1 cup (washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes)
Red chillies - according to taste
Garlic - 7-8 cloves
Onion - 1 large, chopped finely
Drumstick leaves - a handful
Oil - for deep frying

Drain water from the dal. Add red chillies and garlic to it and grind coarsely without adding any water. Add the chopped onions, drumstick leaves and salt. Mix well. Take small amounts of the batter....shape it into a ball and flatten between your palms. Deep fry in hot oil until well browned on both sides.
Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Mint vada

Mint is one of my favourite herbs. It hasn't always been that way. Growing up, I didn't see mint featured on the regular menus in my home - quite likely because my mother hates it. I started enjoying the flavour of mint only after I began cooking on my own. Aloo pudina baath is something that I make quite frequently.
These mint vadas are adapted from Mallika Badrinath's book - 100 Snack Varieties. The smell of the vadas being deep fried and the minty taste when you bite into the crisp outer shell is an experience in itself.

What you need:
1 cup bengal gram (channa) dal
1 cup fresh mint leaves
A handful of corriander leaves
Salt
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Oil - for deep frying

Soak the dal in plenty of water for an hour. Drain all the water and grind the dal along with mint, corriander and green chillies to a coarse paste. Add salt.
Heat oil in a kadai. Take a small ball of batter in your hand, flatten it on your palm and drop it into the hot oil and deep fry until golden brown on both sides. Do this over medium heat to ensure that the inside gets cooked.
Also check out my Parippu Vada recipe here.

On a different and more serious note, Srivalli of Cooking for all Seasons is organizing a fund raiser to help Lakshmi, her household help and a mother of two toddlers, to meet the expenses of a major heart surgery she has to undergo. Please check this post of Valli's for details and do chip in.