Chennai hotel style King fish fry #fishfry

Crunchy Ulunthu vadai in English #ulunthuvadai

Ulunthu vadai is a kind of spicy snack available in India along with hot tea or coffee.

Ingredients: (For 12 small size vadai)
Urid dhal - 1 cup (200 gm)
Oil (peanut oil / corn oil) - 200 ml
Shallot / red onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup
green chilly - 2 (finely chopped)
cumin - 1/4 tsp
whole black pepper - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
Ginger - 1 tsp (finely chopped) -

உளுந்துவடை (25 - 30 வடை செய்ய)

உருட்டுஉளுந்து - ½ kg

கடலெண்ணெய்  - ½ லிட்டர்

மிளகு -1 தேக்கரண்டி + 1 மேஜைக்கரண்டி  

சீரகம் - 1 தேக்கரண்டி 

உப்பு - 2 தேக்கரண்டி 

வெங்காயம் - 1 கப்(நறுக்கியது) 

பச்சைமிளகாய் - 1 (நறுக்கியது) 

கறிவேப்பிலை - சிறிது 

இஞ்சி - 1 துண்டு (நறுக்கியது) 

செய்முறை:

உளுந்தை கழுவி 1 மணிநேரம் ஊற வைத்து, தண்ணீர் அதிகம் சேர்க்காமல், உப்பு, சீரகம் மிளகு ஒரு தேக்கரண்டி சேர்த்து வெண்ணெய் போல் அரைக்கவும்.

வெங்காயம், மிளகாய், இஞ்சி, கறிவேப்பிலை பொடியாக நறுக்கி சேர்க்கவும்.

வடைமாவு தயார். இதை உடனே செய்யலாம் அல்லது குளிர்சாதனப்பெட்டியில் வைத்து மறுநாள் செய்யலாம்.

அரை லிட்டர் எண்ணெய் காயவைத்து, சின்ன வடைகளாக பொரித்து எடுக்கவும்.

Method:
Wash the urid dhal twice thoroughly. Soak the urid dhal in cold water for 1 to 1 1/2  hours. Grind it to a fine paste with very little water. The final consistency should be like the above photo. Imagine the consistency of soften butter to get the correct batter(vadai mavu).

Add the required salt + 1 tsp black pepper and grind again for a while.

Pour the batter to a mixing bowl. Taste and adjust the salt now.
Mix the finely chopped onion, green chilly, curry leaf , whole pepper, cumin with the batter.

Heat the oil in a wok. Wait till it reaches the hottest point. Reduce the flame to medium.

Wet a plastic sheet or banana leaf (small square). Take a small ball of batter , place it on the sheet, gently flatten it and make a small hole at the center.

Deep fry the vadai in medium heat till it gets the golden red color.

Drain the oil , take out and place on kitchen towel / multi holed basin to drain excess oil.

Ulunthu vadai is ready!

Serving suggestions;
Serve with coconut chutney along with hot coffee or tea in the evening.
Also makes a good side dish with Idly, Venn pongal, sarkarai pongal etc.

Tips for a perfect ulunthu vadai:
Making ulunthu vadai is always a challenge for many. So I insist on the following points whenever any one asks me.

1.Always use unsplit, whole skinless urid dhal for making vada and idly. (If we are using split dhal with skin then increase the amount of dhal while soaking. But we can't get more fluffy batter with them).

2.It is better to soak the dhal inside fridge. The purpose is to prevent fermentation of urid dhal, as leaving the batter in hot weather results in little fermentation, which makes the vadai absorb more oil while frying. So I always soak it inside fridge.

3.The batter can be prepared 2 days earlier, but should be kept inside fridge till we add onion and fry.

4.Never add more water to grind the batter. The vadai batter made using Indian grinder yields more number of vadai than that of the Indian mixer made. Most days I use mixie to prepare my batter, sometimes my Ultra grinder (after 2014).

5.If the vadai batter becomes little watery,add a tbsp or more of rice flour. But it will reduce the taste. So leave the watery batter overnight in fridge to remove the excess water.

6.The vadai should be crispy in the outer layer and soft at the inside. So fry it in medium heat. Never allow the oil till smoking point.

7. Always use a thick iron wok to deep fry the vadai, it helps in uniform cooking . This is done to avoid the batter uncooked in the center of the vadai. 

Spicy beans oily stir-fry

This is a spicy side dish for chapathi. I prepare these kind of curries to accompany chapathi when I try to reduce calorie intake.

மோதகம் கொழுக்கட்டை Sesame Kolukattai Mothagam .

Paruppu Urundai kulambu பருப்பு உருண்டை குருமா குழம்பு

Happy Independence Day ,

Happy Independence day and God bless America ! 

Since the July 4 th comes during the summer in America, we all have a very nice time with fairs. carnivals and happy events,

Wishing all a happy Independence Day !

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

Dum aloo is a famous Indian dish available in almost every Indian restaurant. The baby potatoes soaking in that sauce looks so beautiful and I absolutely enjoy preparing this cute curry:) The regular dum aloo has a spicy finish while the Kashmiri version should be on the sweeter side (as per my knowledge).  Originally, they deep fry the potatoes and slow cook them in the gravy overnight. But I did a less calories version on my own to get closer to that restaurant taste. Try this and enjoy:)

Click to see this recipe in my YouTube channel : Viki's Kitchen @ VikiXavier.   

  Kashmiri Dum aloo

Aloo - potato.

Dum / dham / tham - Anything (biryani, vegetables, non veg) closed tightly and cooked in its own vapor in low heat for hours to get a much flavorful and juicy food.

Dum aloo served.

Baby potatoes getting par boiled.

Ingredients:

Baby potato - 15 (1 lb)
bay leaf - 2
oil / butter - 2 tbsp
Tomato puree - 1/2 cup
ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 cloves
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Plain Indian yogurt (thick) - 1/2 cup
dry methi leaves - 1 tbsp

To dry roast:

Cardamom - 3
cloves- 4
cinnamon - 1 inch
nutmeg - a tiny shaving
shahi jeera - 1/4 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
fennel - 1 tbsp
dry red chilly - 6
coriander seed - 2 tbsp

For gravy:

cashew(soaked) - 10
almond(soaked) - 5
raisin - 10
dates - 2
mint leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - 2 sprig
milk - 1 cup

Method:

Soak the nuts, dry fruits in warm milk for 4 hours or overnight (in water).

Choose very small potatoes or buy a baby potato pack.Wash the potatoes.
Put them in boiling water and cook for just 5 minutes (1/2 boil).
Put in cold water and gently peel the skin using a knife.
Then make a few holes all over the potatoes using a fork.

Dry roast the items given. Grind them together with those mentioned above.

Heat 2 tbsp butter / oil in a wok and shallow fry the potatoes till they get a mild red color outside. Keep aside.

In the remaining oil (we won't get much left out, but it will be enough) add the bay leaves, crushed garlic and fry for a few seconds. Then add the tomato puree and fry for a minute. Immediately add the ground masala and bring to a boil. Then add the turmeric, beaten yogurt, salt and mix well.  Put the baby potatoes and reduce the flame. If needed add some milk. Slow cook it for 30 minutes and switch off.
Sprinkle some crushed methi leaves.

Dum aloo is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with paratha, chapathi, jeera pulav or plain rice.