Vada Curry is a lentil curry dish hailing from Tamil Nadu. Steamed / Fried lentil patties are cooked in spicy tomato onion gravy with light coconut flavor.
Prep Time3 hourshrs
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time3 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, southindian, Tamilnadu
Keyword: breakfast sides, saidapet, vadacurry
Servings: 4
Author: Mullai Madavan
Equipment
Kadai / Wok
Ingredients
To make Vada / Pakoda
1cupBengal Gram / Kadala paruppu / Chana dal soak for 3 hours
Rinse and drain off all the water completely using a colander and transfer to a blender / mixie.
Pulse along with green chili, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and salt to a coarse paste. Do not make a fine paste, just choose pulse mode in your blender to make a slightly coarse texture paste.
Now mix finely minced onion, crushed ginger, garlic and chopped curry leaves. Mix to combine.
Now choose to either steam the vadai or deep fry.
To steam - Pinch a little of the mixture to shape into small pakora or shape them into vadai and place them in Idli moulds and steam for 10 minutes. Once done remove, gently crumble and set aside.
To deep fry - Heat oil in a kadai, and pinch in little of the dough (like small pakodas) fry them over medium flame. We need fry them just enough to firm up the outer layer to a light golden color. Do not fry too long, pakoras have to be slightly crisp with light golden shade and soft interior.
Finish all the mixture, fry the pakoras ands set aside.
To make gravy
Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves along with bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon.
Saute onions and green chillies until lightly golden.
Then add crushed ginger, garlic and fry along with onions for few minutes.
Add in tomatoes and let it cook till it becomes mushy.
Add few fresh mint leaves at this stage. This is is optional... but do to make it much more flavorful.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Saute well till the raw smell settles or until the oil separates.
Add little water at this stage and bring it to a boil. Alternatively you may replace water with light coconut milk for added flavor.
When the gravy starts to boil, add the steamed crumbled vadas or fried pakoras. Mix well and let it simmer until the vada absorbs the liquid from the gravy or until it thickens to the desired consistency. Switch off!
Garnish with curry and coriander leaves.
Serve hot with Idli or dosai.
Notes
Vadas can be prepared in 3 different ways. Slightly deep fried or Shallow fried with little oil or Steamed.
Left over masala vadai can also be scrambled to make this curry in hurry.
Adding mint leaves gives super taste try it!
You may use either green or red chilli while grinding.. gives a different flavor.
You can replace water with light coconut milk or thick coconut paste for extra flavour. Coconut powder can also be used to flavor.
Normal Chennai Style Vada curry includes just a little of the coconut milk or paste. Most street style vada curry does not include coconut milk nor coconut.
Adding too much coconut milk will bring in a kurma texture to the gravy.
Another way to bring in coconut flavor is to temper everything in coconut oil.