Vada curry - Vadai curry

Ingredients:

Bengal gram dhal - Kadalai paruppu - 1 cup
Onion - Vengayam - 1 no. (Big size)
Tomato - Thakkali - 2 nos. (Medium size)
Curry leaves - Karuvepillai - small quantity
Coriander leaves - Kothamali - small quantity
Turmeric powder - Manjal thul - small quantity
Green chillies - Pachai milagai - 2 nos.
Grated/shredded coconut - 1 cup
Ginger - Inji - 2 tea spoons
Garlic - Poondu - 3 nos. (Large)
Cumin seeds - Jeeragam - small quantity
Mustard - Kadugu - small quantity
Chilli powder - Kaintha milagai powder - 2 tea spoons.
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak bengal gram dhal for 3 hours. Grind adding very little water, to make pakkodas. Add chopped coriander leaves to the mixture and little salt and fry them in oil as you do pakkodas. Turn around and take them away while it is slight brown. Not even brown when it is just fried and white in colour so that it will be easy to break and add to the curry.
2. Grind ginger, garlic and make a paste. Grind green chillies and grated coconut and make it a paste.
3. Heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard, cumin seeds, curry leaves, then fry onions, followed by tomatoes, add little salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder and pour some water and then add the ginger paste and green chilly paste and allow it to boil for some 10 minutes. Once it looks like gravy add the broken pakkodas into the this and mix well.

Vada curry is delicious to be served. Yummy!!!!!! It can be served with idlis, dosas, chappathis and pooris. It can be served for 4 people. It requires some half and hour to cook (Apart from soaking dhal).

Note: Pakkodas shouldnt be fried deep brown as this will be difficult to break and add to the gravy.

Optional: Instead of coconut, coconut milk can be made thick and thin and both can be added to the gravy. Soya oil can also be added according to taste. Pakkodas content can be reduced if the gravy content required is more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_gram

Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast

Epictetus