Paruppu vadai | Aama vadai | dal vada is a traditional festival special vadai recipe often made as neivedhyam | offering to good. Crispy flavourful vadai is also a tasty South Indian Tamil snack that tastes best with filter coffee/ tea. We Tamil Brahmin prepare this vadai for festivals like bhogi pandigai and Avani avittam. It is also a popular street food commonly served in tiffin centers/hotels/restaurant
Thavalai vadai
Aama is a Tamil word for “tortoise”. The outer layer of Paruppu vada resembles tortoise skin texture hence it is popularly called Aama vada in Tamilnadu. It is one of Tamil Brahmin’s signature recipes. We use four varieties of dal for this vadai, hence it’s also called Mixed Dal Vada or mixed lentil fritters
How long should I soak dal amd rice?
Depending on the dal you use time May slightly vary. It takes around 1+1/2 - 2 hours for them to soak well and turn the soft press. Over soaking, dal might result in soft Vadai for crispy Vadai avoid soaking for a long time
What should be the texture of the ground dal?
Unlike Medu vada avoid grinding the batter smooth. Ground coarse thavala vada batter for the best crispy Vadai. Moisture in the soaked dal is enough for grinding. Always place the dal rice in a colander before grinding. I generally don’t add water while grinding
can I rest the vadai batter
yes, it stays good for a day at room temperature since we add coconut and mix it with our hands, I never kept it for more than a day. Keep the leftover batter at room temperature and avoid refrigerating.
should I grind moong dal
It depends on the individual. Fine grinding moong dal might change the vadai texture. If you don’t prefer using whole moong dal, add it to the mixie jar pulse once, and prepare vadai
How should I roll Paruppu vadai?
Avoid making a thick vadai as might not cook through. Grease your hand with oil and take a small portion; roll and flatten it. I like making small aama vadai for kids-friendly portion sizes and to cook through.
Can I add onion or other vegetables to the Vadai batter?
For festivals, we make no onion no garlic paruppu vadai to offer God but if you are making paruppu vadai for evening snacks, you can add onion before frying. Masala vadai is one of my favorite paruppu vadai with onion.
Should I deseed chilli for vadai?
No, it is optional. To make it a kids-friendly spice, I have deseeded. In our home we generally use red chilli for paruppu vada, instead, you can use green chilli. Other vadai recipes in TMF
Kids after school snacks
CHANA DAL RECIPES
Ingredients
1/4 cup toor dal 1/2 cup rice 1/4 cup Chana dal Red chilli 1/4 cup urad dal Ginger 1 tablespoon sour cream 1/4 cup moong dal Curry leaves 1 teaspoon oil 1/4 cup coconut 1 teaspoon ghee Asafoetida 1 teaspoon mustard seeds ghee oil, to fry
How to make Paruppu vadai with step-by-step pictures
First, wash chana dal, rice, urad dal, and toor dal well
Furthermore add water, and red chilli; soak for 2 hours
wash and soak moong dal separately
After the rice+ dal turns soft press transfer everything into a colander; discard the water
drain the moong dal and keep it separately transfer the rice+dal to the mixie jar add ginger; coarse grind. Don’t add water, ground coarse thick vadai batter
Transfer the ground mixture to the vessel
Add moong dal. if you don’t like whole dal texture pulse and add
Furthermore add curry leaves, coconut a generous portion of asafoetida; mix well
temper mustard seeds in oil and transfer
add ghee and mix well
Heat enough oil in a heavy-bottomed deep pan
Grease your hands with water, pinch a small portion of the vadai batter, and roll. Place it on the other hand and flatten the vadai with your palm Alternatively, you can grease the parchment paper with oil. Grease your hands with water, pinch a small portion of the vadai batter, and roll. Place it on the parchment paper and flatten the vadai
Prepare and keep 4 or 5 vadai based on your pan size for parallel frying When oil is hot gently add the vadai and fry on medium flame After one side is golden flip and fry another side till vadai turns golden and crispy
Drain the oil in an oil filter or place a paper towel on a colander Serve hot with chutney
