Kerala Parippu Vada | Channa Dal Fritters | Lentil Fritters

Fritters made from Channa Dal & Onions

Come to the God's own country & it is difficult to leave the place without spotting this snack. This is one of the yummiest finger food that you can find in the 'chaya kadas' (Tea stall) in Kerala. Pair it up with a cuppa chai & that makes your eve on a rainy monsoon day :) And did you know that this combo of Parippu Vada & Kattan Chaya (Black Tea) was once the watchword or identity of the Communist comrades ! I guess it is the simplicity of the dish & the abundance that made it so. Again, strictly my views :D And one can never forget the train journeys in South India, especially Kerala & Tamil Nadu without hearing the 'Uzhunnu Vada/Parippu Vada' shoutings ;) 

My mom seldom makes this one at home as it is Uzhunnu Vada that is popular at our abode, but my Mil is an expert in this. Give her 15 minutes (plus the soaking of the dal in the afternoon), she pulls up this yummy snack with hot steaming tea for us in the evening. And we are always ready to gobble this up in lesser time than she took to prepare it ;) So why don't we now see how to prepare this easy & popular snack?

Recipe Source: Mil

Makes: 25-30 medium sized fritters

I Took: 

Soaking Time: 2 hours
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

	Channa Dal/Kadala Parippu - 2 cups Onions - 3 nos - medium sized  Green Chilly - 5 nos  Ginger - A 2 inch piece Curry leaves - 3-4 sprigs Oil - To Deep fry Salt - As Needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the channa dal in water 3-4 times. Soak it in water for 2-2.5 hours
2. Chop the onion, green chilly, ginger & curry leaves finely
3. After 2-2.5 hours, drain the water off the channa dal thoroughly. Use a colander if required & then pat dry the dal using a kitchen towel. Do not over soak the dal as it may increase the moisture content & may cause the vadas/fritters to break
4. Now grind the soaked & dried dal coarsely in a mixie without water. Do NOT grind to a fine paste. Just pulse it 3 or 4 times. Add NO water at all as it may again increase the moisture content
5. Add the chopped onion, green chilly, ginger, curry leaves & salt to the coarsely ground dal and mix well
6. Heat oil in a kadai. When the oil is hot enough to fry the vadas, reduce the flame to medium high
7. Make small gooseberry sized balls with the dal mix. Then flatten the balls using your palm. Hold the ball in one palm and press the other palm over the ball so that they get flattened 
8. Take care not to break the balls. You may moisten your palm before flattening each ball. It is advisable to flatten the balls before adding to the oil, else they will break. Now deep fry the vadas until golden brown or till done

Drain off the excess oil & serve hot.

Cheers,

Chitz

Pachai Pattani Vadai | Peas Vadai | Green Peas Fritters

Fritters made form ground green peas & onions mixed with Indian spices

This is yet another tasty simple recipe from the great cook I have ever met.. Hehe, ya my mom.. How intriguing is this fact rite!! Most of the people would give away the 'Best Cook ever known' award to their mom. Somehow, we are so used to their style & taste that we tend to compare any other food that we come across to theirs. And many a times we would also hear or make the comments 'Not as tasty as my mom's' or 'No one can beat my mom's chole poori' ;) 

Everyday the conversation with my mom would not be complete without asking each other what we cooked for the day.. Sometimes we won't have much to talk about. But still we would rattle about for long time about some new recipe or how something that we cooked turned out or what others commented about it. It was during one such conversation that she told me that she had prepared 'Peas Vadai' that day. I was amused. Had never heard of that vadai before. Immediately I asked her for the recipe and jotted it down. But still it took me a month to try it out.. Heights of laziness :D But I was really happy that I did. It was really good :) I enjoyed it with my evening cuppa hot coffee and the movie 'Eat, Pray & Love'

I Took:

Prepartion Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Yield: 8 vadai

I Used:

Peas	-	½ cup
Onion	-	1 no - medium sized - chopped
Fennel seeds	-	A pinch
Garlic	-	2 cloves
Ginger	-	An inch piece
Red Chilly	-	3 no
Corn flour	-	3 tbsp
Garam Masala	-	1 tsp
Salt	-	As needed
Oil	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Grind together peas, fennel seeds, ginger, garlic and red chilly with a little water
2. Add onion, garam masala, salt and corn flour to the ground paste and mix well
3. Make into small patties/vadai shapes on the palm of your hand, from the mix
4. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry/deep fry and serve with hot kaapi/chai :)

Notes:

Can substitute maida for corn flour if required

Cheers,

Chitz