Vazhaipoo vadai are crisp and yet soft tasting vadas made with banana flower and chana dal.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 190 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 210 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks
- Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu
Ingredients
- ½ cup chana dal ((bengal gram))
- enough water (for soaking chana dal)
- ¾ to 1 cup finely chopped banana flower
- 1 inch cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fennel
- ¼ teaspoon whole black pepper
- 1 medium onion (- chopped or ⅓ cup chopped onion or 50 to 60 grams onion)
- ½ inch ginger (- chopped)
- 1 to 2 green chilies (- chopped)
- 8 to 10 curry leaves (- chopped)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
- salt (as required)
- oil (for deep frying, as required)
Method
making vada mixture
- Rinse a couple of times and then soak chana dal in enough water for 2 hours. Then drain all the water very well.
- Take the chana dal in a grinder jar. Add 1 inch cinnamon, ½ teaspoon fennel and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Grind to a semi fine paste.
- Take the ground chana dal paste in a mixing bowl. Add ¾ to 1 cup finely chopped banana flower.
- Then add ⅓ cup chopped onion, ½ inch ginger (chopped), 1 to 2 green chilies (chopped), 8 to 10 curry leaves (chopped) and 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves. Also add salt as required.
- Mix very well.
- Shape into vadas or patties.
frying vazhaipoo vadai
- Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai.
- Check a small piece of vada in the oil. If it comes up gradually and steadily, then the oil is hot enough. Gently place the vadas in the hot oil.
- Fry on medium flame till they are crisp and golden.
- Once the vadai becomes golden, then remove with a slotted spoon.
- Place them on kitchen paper towels. This way fry the remaining vadas.
- Serve vazhaipoo vadai hot or warm with coconut chutney or any sauce or dip of your choice.
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.