Thursday, November 11, 2010

Vada .... & Chennai Times !!


After running around the entire day collecting my documents and tickets and making it to the airport (just on time) I was finally breathing. I was traveling to Chennai almost after two decades. The last time I had visited, it was with my parents in 1991. Then I was a school going girl. Chennai was not Chennai ..... it was called Madras.As I finally settled down and was sipping the piping hot Kafi (Coffee) that the air hostess served, I remembered the good old days when I had travelled with my parents ...... the memories were still fresh in my mind. The paper masala dosa at 'Das Prakash' , the tender coconut water at Marina Beach, shopping at T Nagar and Pary's Corner. I had just finished my Kafi when the air hostess announced that we were landing in Chennai Airport. I collected my luggage and walked up the pre paid taxi counter 'Akbar Travels', as recommended by my neighbor uncle in Bangalore. "Courtyard Marriot" I said as I handed two hundred rupee notes at the counter.
A dark skinny guy with a bushy mustache asked me to follow him to the taxi stand. He pointed towards an 'Ambassador' as he hurried towards it. I had not travelled in an Ambassador for ages now ...... I thought only the politicians travel by it in this era. 'Thud' ..... he closed the door.
Posters of Rajnikanth adored the interiors of the car. The Chennai Traffic was equally bad as Bangalore's.
To strike a conversation with the taxi driver I began 'Anna, looks like you are a big fan of Rajnikanth'.In the mirror I could see the grin on his face nodding in affirmation to my question, as if it was some kind of recognition for him.
Yah I know he is the most famous of all South Indian Hero's, I said trying to show how up to date I was on the Tamil film Industry. Bang came his reply ' Naaaat Hero Madam ...... he is Suuuuper Hero'. I nodded and preferred to maintain my silence. The next word I had with him was 'Thank you' when I tipped this guy on reaching The Marriot.
"Complementary Breakfast ", the lady told me handing over my room keys. I could not wait to throw myself in the bed after this long tiring day. I woke up only the next day morning when the room service called me to remind me of their complementary Breakfast. I gathered all my documents and laptop and walked to the cafe for breakfast. Gossh, the breakfast tables had everything from Continental to South Indian. I thought sticking to the South Indian menu was a better option ...... I could not think of any place better than Chennai to try the South Indian snacks. I filled my plates with little bit of everything and walked back to the breakfast nook. But the one thing that I fell in love with was the 'Vada'. It was crunchy from out side ans soft inside. Seeing my love for south indian food, the Chef walked up to me. I chatted with him as I sipped the filtered coffee.The chef was generous to share his secret recipe.

I was able to finish my work by afternoon and had little time to catch up with some friends in the evening. For an shopaholic like me, it would be a crime not to go to T Nagar ..... I shopped till dead and rushed back to the airport for my return flight.
Till date I religiously follow the tips given by the Chef of Marriot when it comes to Vada. I had been working hard on getting the perfect shape ...... earlier they looked nothing close to a Vada ( they used to be in all kind of shapes ----- Amoeba/ Paramecium. The first time I tried doing it at my in-laws place, my mother in law almost fainted seeing the shapes of my Vada) !! But with practise I am in much better shape !
And I would recommend Vada with Filter Kaafi. I can vouch for it.

Preparation Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Split Urad Daal - 1 cup
Semolina - 1 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 pinch
Finely Chopped Onion - 1/4 cup
Chopped Green Chili - 1 tsp
Chopped Curry Leaves - 1 tsp
Whole Black Pepper - few
Salt per taste



Method of Preparation

1 Soak the daal for couple of hours. Dry grind it ( only sprinkle a little water if needed).
2 Remove the Urad daal paste to another vessel and beat it using your hand to make it a little fluffy.
3 Add all the remaining Ingredients to it and mix well.
4 Heat oil in a kadhai.
5 Make flat dumplings with your hand and drop into the oil. Fry till golden brown on both sides.
6 Remove to a paper towel.

Serving Tips
Serve warm with coffee/ tea.

Notes
Do not make the Urad Daal batter runny. To adjust the consistency, you may add more semolina.
You may also use whole Urad Daal.
Add salt only towards the end before frying it.


27 comments:

Sandhya Hariharan said...

I m definitely bookmarking.. .I have 2 versions of this vada.. Need to try this..

Loved reading the write up satrupa!!

Nandita SS said...

Vadas are my favourite. Great recipe :)

Torviewtoronto said...

yummy vada
beautiful sarees my favourite jasmine :)

Suji said...

My fav snack, lovely presentation dear...

Priya Suresh said...

Crispy vada tempts me a lot..Beautiful sarees..

Suja Manoj said...

Beautiful presentation dear..vadas are my favorite, this sounds great recipe.bookmarked.

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Perfectly shaped vadas. Looks crispy. Loved the writeup too. :)

Elaichii said...

You made me homesick now satrupa! I am from chennai and miss every bit of it!
The vadai or vada looks so crispy and the sarees, jasmine... OMG!

Unknown said...

Wow looks crispy n yummy....luv medhu vadai so much and urs make me drool

indianspicemagic said...

Crispy .I love the shape of the vadai.

Hari Chandana P said...

Hi Satrupa, Vada looks absolutely perfect and tempting.. Wonderful and awesome blog.. thanks for the recipes.. Nice snaps too :)

Pari Vasisht said...

Hi Satrupa,
Loved reading through ur chennai times, made me nostalgic.
The vadai look perfectly made.
FOODELICIOUS

Anu said...

Nice Snaps and yummy recipe Satrupa...You remained me of Chennai again...especially shopping at T Nagar

My Kitchen Antics said...

that looks like the perfect vada..and btw Marriott in chennai serves fab buffet for bf and brunch :)

PreeOccupied said...

Why isnt the coconut chutney with those perfect vadais? They are so tempting, S.

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

awesome Vada Satrupa. love the shape and am yet to master this.

aipi said...

Crispy perfect vadas u've got....love it with chutney

US Masala

Panchpakwan said...

Lovely write up..felt like I was traveling with you!!

Medu vada looks crispy and so inviting...

Deepi's World said...

I liked the idea of adding baking powder and semolina to the batter...enjoyed your writeup and pics are lovely!

Smiley :) said...

I would love to eat :) where r u BTW

Simplyfood said...

Lovely write up of your account and the vadas look temptingly delicious.

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

I was on the journey with you! Love the vadas. Perfect with Kaafi as you say it!

Unknown said...

Perfect and yummy vadas..Great recipe!

Akila said...

vada's looks yummy dear.... and a warm welcome to chennai.....

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Satrupa
How are you? Off blog these days .
Nice Vadas...I will be waiting to see some typical Orissa Vadas ( way side type )
Have a nice week
ushnish bhai

Rekha said...

Arre yaar, just when I have made a firm decision to start dieting, you tempt me with this. They look absolutely divine!

Satrupa said...

Thank you everyone for travelling to Chennai n enjoying this awesome Vada !

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