South Indian Thali: Idli, Madras Erulli Sambhar, Uddina Vade, Hurikadale Chutney and Tuppa!

Phew!! That was one busy week! Weather suddenly improved and is almost like Spring now. That means Allergy season for me too. Not looking forward to itchy eyes, red skin etc but got to deal with it! Hey btw, Anoop Desai aka "Noop dawg" has survived Simon (American Idol) so far, he sings well, outfit is not that geeky anymore! :D

Well..I didn't have anything in particular to post this week. I thought why not post a south Indian favorite; Idli, Sambhar, Vada, chutney, ghee thali instead. What's so special about these, you might ask but take a look at the Urad dal vadas! Reminds you of something? Yeah, don't they look like sweet Doughnuts?
Oh, my 2L wet grinder "Ultra Grind" is coming home today, I will post the photo next week. YAY! Softest idlis, come to momma! HeHe!

I always have hard time making these Urad dal vadas into a thick batter and shaping them like thick doughnuts. You can see my old posts of vadas here and here. I did get lot of advice from other bloggers like chilling the soaked Urad dal, adding chilled water to grind, and chilling the blender bowl before you grind the batter etc. to make the traditional shape of vadas. So, I followed them all and they do work to make batter thick! Any more tips are welcome from you.

These vadas are like savory Doughnuts of India, usually shaped on your wet palm or on a banana leaf, make hole in the middle and deep fried. When I saw the Doughnut maker at the store (also available in Amazon) last month (about $15), something clicked in my head and thought of using this to make Urad dal vadas! I couldn't stop laughing at the sight of these perfectly round thinner rings of Urad dal vadas. They may not be traditional looking vadas as we make in India but they do look cute, don't they? :D

My south Indian thali:
Katori Idli, Udupi or restaurant style Pearl Onion Sambhar, Urad dal vadas shaped by Doughnut maker, Roasted yellow gram dal chutney and homemade ghee.


My whole Idli, sambhar thali goes Rathna of "Asvadha" blog to her "Made for each other" event! These are not the traditional Valentine's day grub but definitely a very well loved, "any time", heart healthy (if you skip the ghee!) south Indian platter. Thanks R, enjoy hosting! :)

Photo of Doughnut/Donut maker and a close up of the spout where all magic happens! :D
Click on the collage to make larger, you can see where the batter comes out forming the shape of a doughnut. Urad dal batter should be a bit thinner than usual thick batter we use for making the regular vadas which helps the batter slide out of doughnut maker easily.
This is how it works; You spray the inside with no-stick oil, pour the thick batter in, hold this straight up on the top of the hot oil, press the red thing down you see on top to drop the batter directly into the oil and release it quickly and deep fry. If the spout were little smaller than it is here, we Indians would have a perfect thicker round Urad dal vadas with smaller holes in the middle!

Plain Urad dal vadas/Uddina vade:
Beautiful Urad dal savory doughnuts are south India's favorite snacks to have. With some of these around, we make a snack called Mosaru Vade/Dahi baras as they call in North India, basically these round dal vadas are soaked in spicy yogurt, served chilled in Summer. I will post that recipe and dish this Summer.

1. Soak 1 cup Urad dal, 1 tbsp rice grains in water overnight in the fridge. Keep the blender jar in the fridge too if you can. This keeps the dal and the jar cooler when grinding it and helps to make the batter thick.
2. Next day, drain the water and grind dal with enough salt, 1-2 pinches of baking soda, 2-3 tbsp water until thick, airy and fluffy. Do not add too much water, batter should be very thick to keep the shape of the vadas.
3. Heat oil to deep fry or at 360F in electric fryer. Spray the inside of the Doughnut maker to make the batter slide easy.
4. Pour the batter 3/4 full, hold it straight on top of the oil, and press the lever and quickly stop the the flow.

You will get a round batter rings and deep fry these until golden and drain on the paper towel. It does take some practice to get the knack of dropping the batter but you will get it eventually like I did!
It costs about $15 in the store or online to buy. If you use it to make sweet Doughnuts as well, it's worth buying. I will make sweet Doughnuts some other time to post here! :)

My doughnut shaped Urad dal vadas go to Ashwini of "Spicy cuisine" blog, who is hosting a new event called "Lentils Mela" this month. What better snack could there be than these Urad dal vadas for lentil mela, right? Thanks Ashwini, enjoy hosting! :))


Katori Idlis:
Katori means cup in Hindi. I poured the ildli batter in cups rather than using the usual Idli stand we use in India to make traditional smaller round Idlis. I use 2 cups any rice, 1/2 cup Urad dal,
1 tsp Methi seeds and salt. You can the Idli and Dhokla stand here.

I made the rice and Urad dal Idli batter in the same way ie chilled before grinding, you do a get soft batter which we need to ferment overnight.

Rest of the method to make idlis are the same as you see here but pour the fermented rice and Urad dal batter halfway upto in Katoris and steam as usual, one layer at a time.

Unmold the Idlis, cool and keep them covered or serve immediately for the best taste. You can reheat the cooled Idlis in the Microwave to serve.


Pearl onion (Madras Erulli) Sambhar:
This is my favorite Sambhar which tastes so good with Idlis and Vadas, almost like restaurant. Sanna Erulli or Madras onions are Pearl onions. I get frozen ones which are so easy to use without the hassle of peeling etc. I just thaw them overnight and saute lightly in oil until almost cooked and golden to use in the Sambhar.

Roast these without oil and pd these first:
1 1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp Methi seeds,
3 tbsp dry coconut,
1/2" cinnamon(Dalchini),
Grind with 1/2 tsp turmeric pd,
1/2 tsp chilli pd.

To make Sambhar:
1. Pressure cook 1/2 cup Tuar dal, 1/4 cup Green gram dal (Moong dal), 1/4 tsp turmeric with 3 cups of water until soft, mash.
2. Add thawed and sauteed 1 cup Pearl onions to the dal, set aside.
3. Heat 1 tsp oil, 2 tsp butter or ghee, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 dry red chillies, few curry leaves and 1/8 tsp Hing. When they splutter, add 1/ 2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp thick Tamarind paste, powdered masala pd, salt, 1/4 cup Tomato sauce, (optional),1 tsp sugar or Jaggary, simmer for 5 mins.
4. Now, add the dal mixture, and 4 tbsp chopped Cilantro, simmer not more than 2 mins and serve hot. Sambhar must not be too thick or too thin. Adjust the water and salt.

Hurikadale Chutney/roasted yellow chana dal chutney:
This is a simple but most delicious low fat chutney because we use lot less coconut and more of the roasted dal (Dalia or chutney dal). I have posted a similar chutney before with different proportions. This chutney is even better tasting and last longer in the fridge than coconut chutney.

1. Lightly toast 3/4 cup roasted yellow chana, 2 tsp Urad dal, 3-4 green chillies, few curry leaves and grind these with 2" chopped fresh ginger, 1/4 cup fresh grated coconut, 1/4 cup or more water, 1/4 tsp thick tamarind paste, few Cilantro stems and salt.
2. Take it out into a bowl, adjust the salt.
3. Season with 2 tsp oil and 2 tsp mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Take off the heat, cool it a bit and add to chutney and mix.
I make this chutney a bit thinner than usual thick chutney. Thinner chutney is great for scooping with vadas.

Home made Tuppa or ghee is here.



To serve, get a traditional stainless steel south Indian style thali or platter, arrange one or two Idlis, vadas, sambhar, chutney and homemade ghee! Slurp!! :D

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My tried and tasted list:

Thanks to all of you:

Potato Onion Rasa Palya, from Rupa Mohan.
Channa masala South Indian style, from Adlak.
Neer Dosa, from Ranji.
Khara bhath, from Nirupama.
Carrots chutney/stir fry, from sra. (I used Broccoli, carrots,red cabbage)
Chettinadu Tomato Rasam, from Dibs.

Book:
"Revolutionary road", made into a movie with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Got bored after few pages because of same old "going thru' middle age crisis" and how they "find themselves" in the end kind of "soppy" stuff. Well...on to the next one! :D

My big thanks to my blogger friends who sent me all those beautiful awards last week. I have listed you on my sidebar and as always, I appreciate each one of those awards and you too. Hugs to all of you! :))

Have a wonderful weekend and happy Valentine's day. See you all next week with Haryanvi cuisine!