What they have in common: a soaked pulse ground up coarsely, some flavourings and then deep-fried.
They're relatively quick and easy to make, with a few caveats. First and foremost, NEVER EVER EVER EVER cook the pulse first. Soaking is enough. If you cook then deep-fry, the falafels/ vadai/ whatever will fall apart and you'll end up with a kind of oily sludgy mess at the bottom of the pan. Soooooooo it's not possible to use, for example, canned chick peas because they've been cooked already before canning. Buy dry, then soak.
Beetroot isn't a vegetable you'd readily associate with India, yet it does feature - particularly in South Indian cooking. This dish is from Tamil Nadu and goes well with rice and a sambhar (maybe I'll post that one up next).
Cost per vadai: 0.25 zl (5 UK pence, 6 Euro cents, 8 US cents)
You'll need:
- a cup of channa dal (soaked for 5-6 hours)
- 1 dried red chilli
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 beetroot (grated)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 green chilli finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Let's rock and roll!
1. Prep the channa dal, red chilli, fennel seeds and cumin seeds.
2. Grind the chilli, cumin and fennel seeds in a coffee grinder and empty into a bowl.
3. Grind up the channa dal in batches and add to the bowl.
4. Prep the other ingredients.
5. Mix everything together in the bowl.
6. Heat up some oil for deep-frying. You want a nice medium heat so cook the vadai through leaving a crispy outside without burning. Add the vadai into the oil and fry for around 3-4 minutes.
7. Drain on some kitchen paper.
8. Enjoy on their own as a snack or as part of a meal - the choice is yours!
Costing:
- channa dal: 1 zl
- veg: 1 zl
- oil: 0.50 zl (1/2 bottle assuming you'll use it around 5 times before discarding)
- the rest: 0.50 zl
Total: 3 zl
Makes: 12 vadai
Cost per unit: 0.25 zl
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