Savoury Dough-Nut....naah..call me 'Medhu Vada' !

I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.--Madam Benoit

Ok let us travel back in time, when a little girl saw the vada for the first time and thought it to be the 'chakra' of Lord Vishnu and kept rotating it on her index finger.

For those who do not know about Indian Mythology, fret not I will elucidiate.
Now as per the Hindu mythology goes, there are three main Gods--
Lord Brahma- The Creator,
Lord Vishnu- The Preserver, and
Lord Shiva- The Destroyer.

Each God has his own symbolic refrence, like Brahma is associated with the lotus flower, Shiva with snakes entwined around his neck and Vishnu who carried his ever-rotating "sudarshana chakra" on the index finger of his right hand. This chakra is used to demolish demons and their empire, who wrong the humans living on Earth.

If I have to describe it...its like a thorny elleptical ring with a hollow in the centre; and which rotates on the index finger of Lord Vishnu. Imagine rotating a key chain with your index finger.

Ok fast forward to present times. The little girl is me, and till today every time I see a 'medhu vada' I have to beat this urge to pick it up and rotate it with my finger.

Then when my tete-a-tete with the famous(or infamous) American doughnut happened. I was immediately reminded of the medhu vada.

My husband is a big fan of all south-indian delicacies; but sadly this does not top the list of my favourite cuisines. At max I can have an utthapam that too with ketchup and only sambhar, no coconut chutney for me please.

I know all south-indian foodies out there would be cursing me as eating utthapam with ketchup is a crime. Please forgive me! I am all about spicy food with no trace of coconut in my savoury dishes...I love sweets made with coconut though.
(However that does not mean that you will not find dishes from this cuisine at my blog, I love my hub and will make it because he likes it and yes, I eat it too. I don't dislike it...just not a big fan.)

The region of southern India itself has a number of cuisines.Chettinand is one of the numerous style of cooking that southern India has.

Chettinad cuisine hails from the deep southern region of Tamil Nadu, India—it is one of the spiciest, oiliest and most aromatic in India.

Although the Chettiars are well known for their delicious vegetarian preparations, their repertoire of food items is famous and includes all manner of fish and fowl and meats, as well as delicate noodle-like dishes and carefully preserved sun-dried legumes and berries that the Chettiar ladies make into curries. Oil and spices are liberally used in cooking and most dishes have generous amounts of peppercorn, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, nutmeg, green and red chilies, etc

I made this Medhu Vada, with a little variation, as I added bengal gram to the otherwise black gram lentil (skinless) recipe alongwith rice flour for added crispness.

Chana Dal Medhu Vada
(Savoury fried lentil doughnuts)

Ingredients-
1 cup bengal gram dal/chana dal,soaked overnight
1 tbsp black gram lentil (skinless)/urad dal,soaked overnight
2 tbsp rice flour
4-5 tbsp coriander/cilantro,finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp carom seeds/ajwain
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp tamarind paste/imli
1/2 tsp root ginger powder/sonth
a pinch of baking soda
salt to taste

oil to deep/shallow fry


Method-

First, in a heavy duty blender, grind the soaked bengal gram and black gram lentil.

In a bowl, add this ground paste with the rest of the ingredients (except oil); to make a thick paste...almost like that of a cake batter.

Wet your hands. Take one tablespoon of this batter and place it on the (wet)palm of your other hand. Make a hollow in the center of this spoonful of batter, to make it look like a ring(doughnut). Drop it in hot oil and fry on medium heat.

Note:The oil should be hot, but not smoking.

I shallow fried mine,to make it healthier without compromising on taste.

This goes out to RCI: Chettinadu Vegetarian Cuisine event being held at Few MinuteWonders; the original concept of Lakshmik(of Veggie Cuisine).

I also send this over to My Legume Love Affair hosted by Srivalli, the brainchild of Susan.

Khasta Kachori

The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star. - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

It was the mid of 2008 when for the first time after getting married I was going to visit my father-in-law at his current workplace. My f-i-l is a Colonel in the Indian Army and keeps moving around the whole country.

As a child I had always fancied joining the army...but fate had other plans for me. However, I was and still am impressed by those who throw caution to the wind, wear their hearts on their sleeves and fight for their motherland-army,navy,air force (all inclusive). It must a different kind of a high I guess.
I respect and admire the courage of a soul who wishes to dedicate his/her entire life in the service of his/her nation.

Although I have had several (treasured) oppurtunities to visit my friends in the army residences and club grounds in the military restricted zones, in Kolkata. I never have actually stayed (I mean overnight or long stay) within the army grounds/periphery.

This was a very much looked-forward-to stay for me. It was in Jaamnagar, Gujarat.(West India)
Right from the time I set foot on those 'awe-filled' grounds, I couldn't help but be amazed at the chivalry and manners of the people there,which are unparalleled. I met various officers of different ranks and grades and also tuned my fine dining habits a bit. :p

(Who knew that you had to keep your fork and knife at a certain angle to each other for the waiting bearer, to indicate that you are done eating. Thanks to my hub it was a saving grace.)

Its like being transported into a different world..very idealistic and self sufficient. The kitchen chefs even grew their own vegetables. I could rant on and on about my stay but then I would digress.








This was the place where I tasted the best Khasta Kachori (and packed a few for our return journey). I love a lot of delicacies that Kolkata has to offer, but khasta kachori isn't one of them. It is very heavy and has a residual taste.

However the ones I had in Jaamnagar were just perfect. Not heavy, but light and crsipy. A "re-discovery" of this delish snack.
I tried duplicating them here for the first time, and it turned out impeccable (but I shall not be the valedictorian). Try for yourselves. :)









KHASTA KACHORI
(Deep-fried crispy pastry filled with savoury lentils)

Ingredients-
For filling-
1 cup green mung dal/green gram,soaked for 4 hours
2 tbsp split black lentils/urad dal,soaked for 4 hours
1 tsp carom seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1 pinch aesfotida
2 tsp amchur powder/dried mango powder
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
3 tsps sugar
salt to taste

For pastry dough-
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp clarified butter/oil
a pinch of salt
lukewarm water for kneading dough
oil for deep frying


Method-
Boil the lentils half way cooked. Drain and cool.
In a food processor add the green and black lentils, and blend to a coarse paste.
In a pan heat a tbsp of oil and add cumin seeds. Once they splutter add ginger-garlic paste,aesfotida,turmeric,fennel seeds,amchur powder,red chilli powder and sugar.Mix well.
Add the ground lentils. Season with salt to taste.
Cook this mixture for about a miunte, so that there is no trace of any moisture in the filling.

In another bowl, take the flour, rice flour and add salt & clarified butter. Mix together to form a crumbly dough like that of a short crust pastry. Using water knead into a soft pliable dough.Let it rest for few minutes.

Pinch out a ping-pong ball sized dough and spread out on a flat surface with your fingers to form a small disc of say 2" in diameter. Add spoonful of the prepared filling, hold the edges together and join them with your hand, pull it out with your index finger and thumb.Pinch out the extra dough and roll the ball slightly between your hands.
Do the same with the rest of the dough.

Deep-fry the filled dough-balls in a wok of relatively hot oil (not smoking hot), on a medium flame, for about 4-5 minutes, until the kachori gets a nice light golden color.

Tip: Once out of the oil, the kachoris will darken in colour so take care not to over fry them.


Serve the crispy kachoris with imli/tamarind chutney or ketchup at tea-time with some tea/coffee. (Skip the scones and try these for a change!)

N.B. The best thing about this dish is that it is versatile. Infact almost all regions of the country(India) have their own version of the khasta kachori. The 'way' it is prepared remains the same. However, the 'ingredients' can be as little as four-five (basic ones being- lentils, sugar, salt, cumin, turmeric, chilli) or as many as listed above. It depends on personal tastes.

I share this with Sudeshna (of HereICook) for her Harvest- the festival of rice.

It also goes to Susan (of the Well Seasoned Cook) for her My Legume Affair- 7th helping hosted by Srivalli this time.

Now this dish goes in the very long-and-still-going-strong challenge--the Weekend Cookbook #36 challenge. (phew!) hosted by Sara.

And to FIC-Yellow hosted by Harini a.k.a. Sunshinemom.

I send this over to Lore(of Culinarty) for her Original recipe event.

And to Ruth for her Bookmarked Recipes.