VADA CHAAT

Heeellloooo,

It's just April, & summer seems already here. And  the summers also mark the beginning of the season of my favourite fruit Mangoes. And guess what, like most of the girls, I love mangoes in their green & sour avatar too. Today, I was really in a mood to have something tangy for lunch. I had green mangoes lying in the refrigerator, & a fermented batter made from rice & dal, which mom had planned to make vadas with. So, I decided to prepare a chaat out of all these, which would be filling enough for lunch, & would satiate my appetite for a tangy delight. So, friends, here comes a chaat that has a subtle South Indian touch.

Ingredients:

For the Vada: ½ cup Rice, ½ cup Split Black Gram (urad dal), 4 tbsp Yoghurt, ½ tsp Baking powder, 2 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tsp Red Chili powder, 8 tbsp Refined oil, Salt to taste.

For the Upma:  1 cup Vermicilli, 1 cup chopped Vegetables (potato, carrot, bean, peas), 1 chopped Onion, 2 chopped green Chilies,1 tbsp Peanuts, 2tsp Split Red Gram (toovar dal), 2 tsp Split Bengal Gram (chana dal), 10-15 Raisins, few Curry leaves, 2 dry Red chilies, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, 4 tbsp Refined oil, Salt to taste.

For the Chutney:  2 Green Mangoes, 3 tbsp Jaggery, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, ½ tsp Cumin seeds, 2 dry Red Chilies, 4 chopped Fig, 3 chopped green Chilies, few fresh coriander leaves, 1 tbsp Refined oil, Salt to taste.

Procedure:

Make a fine paste of rice & dal & leave it overnight for fermentation. Once the batter starts releasing a sour, fermented smell, you know that your batter is ready for the next step. Add salt, yoghurt, lemon juice, baking powder & red chili powder, & mix well. Make sure the batter has a thick consistency. Meanwhile, heat oil on a deep frying pan. Now, take one small scoop of the batter & place it right on the middle of the pan. Deep fry the vada. Continue the process with the remaining batter as well.

While are vadas are being done, soak the split bengal gram & red gram in warm water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil on another pan, & fry the vermicelli till they are golden brown. Add 1 cup water in the fried vermicelli & place it back on flame for a minute until the vermicelli is tender. But be careful not to overcook. Strain the excess water. Now heat 1 tbsp oil on a pan. Add the peanuts & the soaked dal & fry them. Once that’s done, place the dal & the peanuts aside. Add another 2 tbsp of oil on the pan. Add mustard seeds, & dry red chilies. Once the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the curry leaves, followed by the vegetables & the chopped onion. Add salt to taste & cook till the vegetables are done. To this, add the fried peanuts & dal. And then add the raisins. Finally, add the vermicelli & mix well. The vermicelli upma is ready.

Now, for the chutney, blend the mangoes, coriander & green chilies into a smoothie. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds & dry red chilies for the tampering. Once the seeds begin to splutter & the chillies turn deep brown, pour in the mango smoothie. Add the jaggery. Once the jaggery melts, add salt to taste, followed by the chopped fig. The sweet & sour, hot mango chutney is ready as well.

Assortment:

Spread 2-3 tbsp of vermicelli upma on a plate. Tear a vada into 4-5 pieces, & place them over the upma. Pour 1-2 tbsp of the mango chutney over the vada as the final layering. And your Vada Chaat is ready to tickle your senses this summer.