Udida Ghari (Crunchy Urad Dal Vadas)

Born a Konkani Brahmin, everybody expected the first dish on my blog to be a konkani delicacy. But i wanted to wait and make something special. Today is a very special day. A day dedicated to that special person because of whom i am in this world today...My father, My hero,My guiding light. He has always been a pillar of strength, believed in me and made me what I am today. So I start my array of Konkani delicacies with one of his favourite, Udida (Urad Dal) Ghari (small vadas). These are teatime snacks prepared in most of the konkani househols and are also made as prasad for a few religious occasions. A spicy, crunchy and a lipsmacking dish. Thanks to my Dear Ushakka for giving a step by step explanation of ths recipe. This recipe was adapted from here.

Happy Father's Day Bappa...You Are the Best!!

Urad dal (White lentil ) is the richest source of protien and Vitamin B. It is very good for women as it contains iron, folic acid ,calcium and magnesium. Unlike other dals this is rich in fibre so easy to digest.It boosts energy in the body and improves immunity.

Ingredients:

Makes - 10 small vadas

Urad Dal (White Lenti) - 1/2 cup

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Black pepper - 1/4 tsp

Green chillies - 1-2 nos

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - A few

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste 

Oil for deep frying

Method:

• Soak Urad Dal for 2-3 hours. Transfer the dal into a sieve and keep aside to drain.
• The dal should dry completely. There should be no water otherwise the gharis will become oily.

• Put the drained dal in a blender and grind coarsely along with pepper powder, green chillies without adding water.
• If you find it difficult to grind just sprinkle very little water. The batter should be as dry as possible otherwise the vadas will start soaking oil.
• Remove it from the blender and add chilli powder,asafoetida,turmeric powder, curry leaves, jeera and salt and mix well.

• Heat oil in a kadai. Pinch out small portions of the batter and deep fry on low heat till done. Each batch may take 5-7 minutes.

• Enjoy these Hot Gharis with Garam Garam chai.
• Perfect snacks for the monsoons.

Note:

• Put only 5 portions at a time. If you overcrowd the kadai the gharis will not get uniformly cooked.
• Do not overheat the oil if you do so the gharis will remain raw from inside and only the outer covering will get cooked.