Rasam Dal Vada Recipe (South Indian Snack)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger (adrak)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
• 1 tbsp chopped curry leaves (kadi patta)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 1/4 tsp haldi powder (turmeric powder)
• salt (namak) to taste
• oil for deep-frying
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped tomato
• 10 black peppercorns (kalimirch)
• 1 tsp coriander (dhania) seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• clove (laung / lavang)
• 3 pandi chillies, broken into pieces
• 1/4 tsp haldi powder (turmeric powder)
• 1 1/2 cups tamarind (imli) water
• salt (namak) to taste
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (rai / sarson)
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 6 curry leaves (kadi patta)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

Steps

1. Clean, wash and soak the chana dal in a deep bowl in enough hot water for 2 hours. Drain well.
2. Blend the chana dal in a mixer to a coarse mixture without using any water.
3. Transfer the mixture into a deep bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and shape each portion into 50 mm. (2”) diameter round flat vada.
5. Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan and deep-fry, a few vadas at a time on a medium flame, till they turn golden brown in colour from all the sides. Drain on an absorbent paper. Keep aside.
6. Combine the tomatoes, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, dry red chillies and turmeric powder in a mixer and blend till smooth.
7. Transfer the mixture into a deep bowl, add the tamarind water, salt and 1½ cups of water and mix well. Keep aside.
8. Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
9. Add the prepared tamarind- tomato mixture, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
10. Re-heat the rasam, switch off the flame, add the vadas and coriander and mix well. Cover with a lid and keep aside for 30 minutes. Serve.