Vadacurry with Polenta Idli

Vada Curry

   Vada curry is a traditional South Indian dish which is normally served with idli's , dosas or appams.  Vada curry is usually an vegetarian dish made with lentil fritters which is crumbled and made into an thick spicy gravy. The  recipe which I have given here is with ground meat and lentils, you can also use the same recipe without any meat.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes+ soaking time for lentils
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
For vadai:
Ground meat- 200 g
Chana dhal- 100 g
Dried red chilly- 2
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 5 leaves
Coriander leaves- 1 stalk
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
For the gravy:
Onion- 1 big sized sliced finely
Tomato- 1 big sized chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Green chilly- 1
Mint Leaves- 1 stalk
Coriander leaves- 2 stalk
Coconut milk- 100 ml
Oil- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
For Seasoning:
Cinnamon Stick- 1/2 inch stick
Bay leaves- 1
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 stalk

Method:
Prepare the vadai:
Soak the chana dhal in water for 2 hours.  Grind into a coarse paste along with dried chilly, fennel, curry leaves and coriander leaves.  Add the ground chana dhal along with ground meat, salt and garam masala, mix it well.
Heat oil in a kadai enough for deep frying.  Drop a small portion of mixture in the oil and check if it's hot enough for frying. If the mixture comes to the top sizzling, then the oil is ready to fry.
 Make small patties of the mixture.  Drop 2 to 3 at a time and deep fry until they look golden brown.
Prepare the gravy:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start spluttering, add the seasoning ingredients one by one.  Then add the onion and ginger garlic paste, saute well.  Keep the heat in medium to low, cover the pan and cook until the onion looks completely soft and light brown in colour.  Now add the tomatoes, saute well, cover the pan and cook until the tomatoes go soft.
 Add chilli powder, coriander powder and mix well.  Then add half cup of water and cover the pan, cook in medium heat for 5 minutes.
  Crumble the vadas and add it to the gravy.  Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves and mix well.  Finally add the coconut milk, green chilly and salt to taste.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes until oil separates and floats on top.  Take it off from heat, sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves on top.  Serve warm with idli'd or dosas.

Polenta Idli

   Polenta is made from yellow or white corn meal, which looks very similar to semolina.  This is the exact same version of my usual instant idli's.  You can make plenty of variations to this simple idli like adding different vegetables, adding whole grains etc... Just play with a basic semolina idli recipe.  You can find all my different types of idli's here.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Makes about 25 idli's

Ingredients:
Polenta- 1 cup
Semolina- 1/2 cup
Bulgur wheat- 1/2 cup
Bicarbonate of soda- 3/4 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Yogurt- 2 cups
Seasoning:
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Urad dhal- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Green chilli- 1
Curry leaves- 1 stalk( leaves only chopped)
Coriander leaves- 2 stalk( finely chopped)
Blanched almonds- 5( chopped roughly)
Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start spluttering , add the remaining seasoning ingredients one by one except coriander leaves.  When the nuts turn slightly brown, turn f the heat, add polenta, semolina and bulgur, mix it well.  Add this mixture to the large bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda , salt and turmeric powder, mix it well.
  Then add the chopped coriander leaves and yogurt, mix it well. At this stage the mixture will be quite thick, add about 1/2 to 1 cup of water to make the batter similar to idli batter or semi thick batter consistency.  Grease the idli moulds, fill the moulds with batter and steam it for 5 to 7 minutes until they look fluffy and cooked.
Serve the idli's warm with vada curry or any sambhar or chutney of your choice.



This recipe goes to Twist the Traditional- Idli's by My Innovative Kitchen