Keera Vadai

                                                     Keera Vadai

         Popular snack in Tamilnadu, I ate this Keera vadai for the first time at Kalanai dam in Trichy in 2012.  A small food cart vendor at Kalanai dam was making keera vada. He was frying medu vada's with keerai in it. We tasted both medu & masala vadai with keerai, ie meduvadai using urad dhal, little rice flour and finely diced keerai and masala vadai using bengalgram dhal with keerai. 
          He also gave me the recipe, he mentioned in kilograms with proportions. So using the proportions, I devised it to smaller quantity and made using Channa dhal or Bengal-gram. It came out really well, very crispy outside but soft inside.

Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Soaking Time: 3 hours
Cooking Time: 5 to 10 minutes for a batch of 5 vada's

Ingredients:
Bengal-gram dhal: 3/4 cup
Onion finely chopped: 1 no (Big) 
Green Chilli: 2 nos

Mula keerai: 1/2 cup tightly packed 
Saunf: 1/2 teaspoon
Salt as per taste
Red chilli: 3 nos
Ginger finely chopped: 1 &1/2 inch piece
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Soak Bengal-gram for 2 to 3 hours and then grind it in a mixie jar along with red chillies with little water into coarse paste. Take it out in a bowl. The batter should be very thick.
2. Finely chop the onions, green chillies, ginger and add to the Bengal-gram vada batter.
3. Clean and wash the greens well. Finely slice or chop it and add this to vada batter.
4. Add salt, sanuf and mix well.
5. Place a kadai or pan on the stove top with enough oil for frying over medium flame.
6. Take a lemon sized batter in your palms flatten it and gently drop it in the oil. Fry till becomes dark golden brown.
7. Drain excess oil and take it out.
8. Serve it hot.

Note:
1. Make sure the oil is in medium hot, so that the vada cooks even inside and remain crispy for a longer time.