The Best Of Samaithu Paar (9 page)

Soak black gram dhal for 2 hours and grind. (The consistency of the dough should be like for idlis.) Allow dough to stand for at least 8 hours. Soak Bengal gram dhal separately for 2 hours. Wash and drain well. Mix black gram dhal batter, rice flour, Bengal gram flour, salt, chilli powder and the soaked Bengal gram dhal. Mix well into a thick dough, adding the asafoetida water. Add chopped ginger and green chillies. Heat 2 tsp oil in a frying pan. Fry mustard and curry leaves and season the batter.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Take a handful of dough. Roll into small balls and drop in the oil. Cook for a while. Prick with a fork in a couple of places. Turn gently and cook till crisp. The vadais should be crisp on the outside and soft inside. Drain oil and serve hot.

Ingredients

Black gram dhal
½ cup

Bengal gram dhal
¼ cup

Raw rice flour
1½ cups

Bengal gram flour ½
cup

Salt
2 tsp

Chilli powder
2 tsp

Asafoetida water
1 tsp

Ginger
1"piece

Green chillies
5-6

Oil
2-3 cups

Mustard seeds
1 tsp

Curry leaves
8-10

Curd
(Sour) ⅓ cup (Optional)

To serve
4 persons

Soak the black gram dhal for 2 hours. Wash and grind into a smooth, spongy dough, along with salt. The dough should be firm and thick. Finely chop green chillies, ginger and coconut. Mix with the dough. Add pinched curry leaves and coriander leaves. Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan and fry the mustard. Season the dough with the fried mustard.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Keep a little water separately in a vessel. Wet your hand in the water. Take a small lime size ball of the dough and drop it into the oil. (Do not roll the dough too much.) Cook to a reddish brown colour, turning gently with a flat spoon. Remove from fire, drain the oil and serve. Cook about four to eight bondas at a time. Continue to fry in batches till all the dough is used up.

Ingredients

Black gram dhal
2 cups

Salt
2 tsp

Green chillies
7-8

Ginger
1" piece

Coconut
¼ (Medium)

Curry leaves
8-10

Coriander leaves
2-3 tbsp

Oil
2-3 cups

Mustard seeds
1 tsp

To serve
4 persons

Boil the potatoes. Peel and mash. Add salt and turmeric powder. Extract juice from the lime and mix with the mashed potatoes. Chop green chillies and ginger. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry mustard. Add ginger and green chillies and fry a little. Add mashed potatoes. Add asafoetida water and pinched coriander and curry leaves. Mix well. Remove from fire. When cool, roll into small arecanut size balls.

Mix all the ingredients for the batter with enough water to make a thick batter. Dip each potato ball into the batter, coating it evenly on all sides.

Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan. Drop the bondas in the hot oil and cook to a reddish brown colour, turning gently. Remove from fire. Serve hot.

Ingredients for the filling

Potato
350 gms

Salt
1 tsp

Turmeric powder
½ tsp

Lime
1

Green chillies
4

Ginger
1"piece

Oil
2-3 tsp

Mustard seeds
1 tsp

Asafoetida water
½ tsp

Coriander leaves
2 tbsp

Curry leaves
8- 10

Ingredients for the batter

Bengal gram dhal flour
1½ cups

Rice flour ½
cup

Salt
¼ tsp

Chilli powder
2 tsp

Baking soda
A pinch

Asafoetida powder
A pinch or to taste

Oil
(for frying) 2-3 cups

To serve
4 persons

Mix Bengal gram dhal flour, rice flour and refined wheat flour together. Add salt, baking soda and chilli powder. Prepare asafoetida water and mix with the curd. Add to the flour and prepare a thick batter with enough water.

The following vegetables may be used: brinjal, plantain, Bangalore brinjal, potato, snake gourd, pumpkin and ridge gourd. If you are using ridge gourd, plantain or Bangalore brinjal, scrape the skin off first and then cut into thin long slices. Cut other vegetables into thin rings.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the cut vegetable in the batter. Cover both sides well. Drop the batter-covered vegetables into the oil. Fry till golden brown. Drain oil and serve hot. Continue to fry in batches.

Ingredients

Bengal gram dhal flour
½ cup

Rice flour
1 cup

Refined wheat flour
(Maida)
½ Cup

Salt
2 tsp

Baking soda
A pinch

Chilli powder
2½-3 tsp

Asafoetida
A pinch or to taste

Curd
(Sour) ⅕ cup

Vegetable
100-150 gms

Oil
3 cups

To serve
4 persons

Roast rice in a frying pan. (Do not let the colour change.) When cool, wash and drain (pour through a bamboo basket or colander). Grind into flour (in a mill or mixie/food processor) and sift through a fine sieve. Do not let the rice remain damp for a long time before grinding. Dry roast black gram dhal to a reddish colour and grind into a very smooth powder (in a mill or mixie/food processor). Sift through a fine sieve. Dissolve asafoetida and salt in ¼ cup water. Mix rice flour, black gram dhal flour, asafoetida and salt water and cumin seeds. Knead with a little water. Add butter or ghee and knead well into a firm dough.

Spread the dough on a white cloth. Dip fingers in coconut oil. Take a little of the dough and spin out into circles, giving the dough a twist. Make three or four rounds. Each ‘murukku’ will resemble a circle, made of rows of twisted cord. Make all the dough into as many ‘murukkus’ as possible. When half the dough has been made into ‘murukkus’, heat oil or vanaspati in a frying pan. Gently slide four or five ‘murukkus’ into the hot oil, choosing the ones that have become comparatively dry. (Take care not to break the ‘murukkus’.) When half-cooked, turn and cook the other side, till both sides are golden brown and the hissing sound ceases. Remove from fire and drain. When cool, store in an airtight container.

Ingredients

Rice
4 cups

Black gram dhal
½ cup

Asafoetida
A pinch or to taste

Salt
½ cup

Cumin seeds
2 tsp

Butter or firm ghee
(for kneading) ½ cup

Vanaspati or coconut oil
(for flying) 1½ cups

Photograph

Wash rice. Soak for a while. Drain out and dry in the shade. Grind in a mill into a fine flour and sift. Roast the black gram dhal till it becomes hot. Grind in a mill. Sift and mix with the rice flour. Add cumin seeds. Mix asafoetida in water. Dissolve salt in water. Pour asafoetida water and salt water into the ground flour. Add the butter or ghee and enough water and knead into a firm dough.

Heat the ghee or coconut oil in a frying pan. Insert the perforated ‘thenkuzhal disc’ in the ‘thenkuzhal’ press. Put a little of the dough in the bottom part of the press. Holding the press over the oil, press out the ‘thenkuzhal’ with a circular motion of the hand, so that the ‘thenkuzhal’ is circular in shape. Make as many as can be fried without the ‘thenkuzhal’ touching one another. Cook one side till brown. Turn and cook the other side till the hissing sound ceases. Remove and drain excess oil. When cool, store in an airtight container. Fry in batches till all the dough is used up.

Ingredients

Rice
4 cups

Black gram dhal
1 cup

Cumin seeds
2 tsp

Asafoetida
A pinch or to taste

Salt
¼-½ cup

Ghee or butter
(for kneading) ½ cup

Ghee or coconut oil
(for frying) 2½ cups

Thenkuzhal Press (with thenkuzhal disc)