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Vada curry recipe | Side dish for idli dosa

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vada-curry-recipe-2  Vada curry – The name itself tempts us a lot right? But I have tried this only once before. The reason is fennel. My family does not like fennel, so kept postponing trying this. But When Raji told this recipe it sounded simple to try. I have not tasted vada curry before, so was very clueless about the taste and outcome. But the garlic, fennel in the curry with the vada along with the flaovur of coriander leaves and curry leaves is simply superb. You can make use of the left over masala vadai too. The next day it can make you a side dish for your breakfast.


vada-curry-recipe

Vada curry recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Side dish
Prep Time: 3 hours soaking time    |  Cook time: 20 mins    |  Serves: 3

Ingredients

Channa dal/ Kadala paruppu – 1/2 cup

Onion – 2

Garlic – 6 flakes

Sambar powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric – 1/8 tsp

Green chilli – 2

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Coriander leaves – 1 tblsp

Salt – as needed

*Left over masala vadas can be used, use 6 vadais

To temper

Oil – 1 tbsp

Cinnamon – 1 small piece

Cloves – 2

Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp

Bay leaf – 1

Method

  1. Soak dal for 3 hours, drain water and grind to a paste. Add little water while grinding if needed. Cube onion and peel garlic and cut into two, slit the green chillies and keep aside.

    2. 1-vada-curry

  2. Mix salt accordingly in this and mix well. Make bite sized pakodas/ vada out of it, no need to worry about the shape. Deep fry in oil until cooked.

    3. 2-vada-curry-recipe

  3. Heat a pan with oil and season with the items given under ‘To temper’ table. Add fennel seeds lastly and wait until it splutters. Add cubed onion, garlic and fry till golden brown here and there.

    4. 3-vada-curry-recipe

  4. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of water, turmeric, sambar powder, required salt and bring to boil.

    5. 4-vada-curry

  5. Add the prepared vadas and simmer and boil for 5-8 minutes in medium flame.

    6. 5-vada-curry

  6. Boil until the vadas gets soft and gets absorbed well in the gravy. Stir in such a way to mash it if needed to get a thick curry. Garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves.

    7. 6-vada-curry

Notes
  • Adding half the salt in the vada and half in the gravy is must. Otherwise the taste wont be homogenous.
  • The key is to get the vadas soaked well in the gravy and get soft. The vada should not be hard. So make sure the vada batter is soft and if you want can add a pinch of cooking soda in the vada batter.
  • Simmer and cook to get the soft texture.
  • Left over vadas works great for this recipe. You can also steam the vadas instead of deep frying. The result wont be changed.

Serve hot with Dosa the best. Idli also gets matched with this well. I can even eat as such Cool.
vada-curry-recipe-1

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. I've tasted it once at a friend's place with dosa.Never knew what the ingredient was but I absolutely loved the taste.I somehow always thought vada curry was made with Medu vada:)

    Reply

  30. Sangee … You should cook it. So you have to fry it till it gets cooked properly. try Boiling for long time and simmer it to get it juicy. The vada should not be hard. Grind it not too coarse, not too fine. That will work. Make/ break the vada to small pieces.

    Reply

  64. Hi

    This is vilasini. There is another option too, instead frying you make it steamed in idly pot. add red chilly and sombu with that dal grind it and make balls. Steam that and mash it

    add oil in kadai, add seasoning items like patta, krambu, birinji leaves, and sombu, add onion, ginger garlic paste, tomato one by one fry it, add chilly powder, dania powder and still fry it as it for gravy. add cups of water let it boil and mashed balls and make it sim for ten minutes until become thick gravy.

    add pudina leaves, coriander leaves finaly

    Reply

  70. Hi Raks,

    How are you doing? This dish looks very lovely..I am guessing it must taste yummy with khichdi also and with dosas. Lovely clicks!!

    Shobha

    Reply

  74. Iam from Saidapet ,which is the place famous for vadakari.this is the favorite dish in my inlaws house.
    We steam the grinded channadal paste and powder it like we do for Ukarai .we also add ginger garlic paste
    While sauting onion.redchilli powder in place of sambar powder improves the taste.my co sister used to add very finely chopped mint leaves in the final stage and allow to boil for 2minutes.add adequate amount of water as the channadal will absorb more water

    Reply

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