Monsoon Munches - Masal Vadae - spicy fried lentil and herbs patties...

MONSOON MUNCHES

MASAL VADAE

Three decades ago when my children were of school going age they eagerly looked forward to their father's return from the golf club. He always brought back a hot parcel of yummy snacks (bondas, bajjis, masala nuts, finger chips and many more) from the club after his game, which the children relished. The mini masal vadaes the size of a one rupee coin were my children's favourite. They greedily gobbled them up with coconut chutney or mint chutney which accompanied the vadaes in the parcel and a lot of tomato sauce from the refrigerator.
I had never tried preparing masal vadaes at home for a very long time , until Lakshmi arrived. She helped us in all our house hold chores and she prepared yummy 'Golf Club' masal vadaes as long as she stayed with us. Now a days Masal Vadaes have become a part of our party cooking. It is an addictive snack for a cloudy day.

INGREDIENTS
Bengal gram dal - 250 gms
Onion - 1 big (finely chopped)
Garlic - 5 pearls(Peeled)
Green chillies - 4
Fresh ginger - 2 inches( Cleaned and peeled)
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped dill leaves - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - for frying

METHOD
1. Soak bengal gram dal for one hour.
2. Chop onion and herbs and keep aside.
3. Grind 2 table spoons of the soaked dal with ginger, garlic, green chillies and cinnamon into a smooth paste.
4. Drain the remaining dal and add it to the paste and run the mixer for a minute to get a thick and coarse batter without adding water.
5. Mix the batter evenly with a spatula and run the mixer for a few more seconds if necessary. It is fine if some dal is still left uncrushed.
6. Scoop out the dal mixture in a bowl and mix in the chopped herbs and onion, salt and cumin seeds. (The batter can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for two days, without adding salt. You can add the required amount of salt just before frying the vadaes.)
7. Heat oil in a kadai.
8. Make a small ball out of the batter and flatten it on your palm into a vadae, and slide it into the hot oil. Vadaes can be cooked in batches of six or eight depending on the size of the kadai.
9. Do not disturb until you see a colour change around the vadaes. Gently flip the vadaes and cook on the other side.
10. Cook until the vadaes become a golden reddish brown in colour on all sides.
11. Take them out using a perforated ladel and drain them on a paper towel.
Pop the crunchy munchy piping hot Masal Vadaes into your mouth as they are or after dipping them in mint or coconut chutney. Find yourself on cloud 9 on a gloomy cloudy day !

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Related Air Conditioning Information from Horizon Services...

• Air Conditioning Installation and Replacement
• Choosing The Right Contractor
• Deciding To Replace Your Equipment
• Equipment Basics
• Making The Right Decision
• The Installation Process
• The System Analysis
• SEER, AFUE and HSPF Ratings Explained