December 15, 2011

Amma's Recipes: Chana Dal Wadi ki Kadhi [Lentil Dumplings in Yogurt Gravy]

Amma's recipes is one such column on this blog, which is very close to my heart. These are the recipes which my mother perfected over many many years and reflects how awesome a cook she is. It is also fun to just photograph once in a while, without thinking about what and how to make a recipe, worrying whether it would turn out well or not. She Cooks, I Photograph. That is the deal. :-) If you guys have any question, do drop in a line or comment. My mom will be more than happy to answer all of them. 

Dad & Mom in the year 1983

Both for me and my little sister, my Mother is the biggest inspiration in our lives. It baffles us how can she be so good at almost everything she does. and my Dad. He is the sweetest and one with most patience in our family.  He can go to any extent to get our wants and wishes fulfilled...and both of them make one helluva couple, I must say!

It is me in green and my sister in pink..
My mom was 42 when she did her MA in Economics. With a fulltime day job and two school-going kids at home, it was quite a task to balance out everything. It was my dad who used to help her in everyday chores, so that my mother could concentrate on her studies. That is the time when he also got promoted as sous chef in our kitchen. ;-).. He used to prepare the dal, vegetables, neatly cut into pieces, for my mom to quickly make a curry & a dal for our lunch & dinner. ..a decade later, they still work together in the kitchen, dishing out amazing family recipes for us and their extended families.

Chana Dal Wadi ki Kadhi, comfort food at its best..
Amma and Nanna are in Bangalore right now with me, for a short trip as Mr.TH is out of town, yet again. It is been a while that I updated this blog with any of her recipes, so we teamed up and made this absolutely decadent, easy-to-make 'Chana Dal Wadi ki Kadhi' for you all. The best part of this recipe is, it works well, even in parts. Make these wadis for a quick, evening snack or to pep any of those gloomy, rainy evenings. (or) Make the kadhi by itself for a comforting meal. Enjoy!

Soaked and ground Chana Dal paste, ready to be made & fried into wadis

these fried wadis taste delicious as-is.

Kadhi at the front and Fried Wadis at the back, ready to be mixed together 


{Recipe} Chana Dal Wadi ki Kadhi

Ingredients

For Kadhi -

thick yogurt/curd, 2 cups
green chillies, 4 medium ones
ginger piece, 1/2 inch
besan (chickpea flour), 2 tbsp
turmeric, 1/4 tsp
salt, to taste
few coriander/cilantro leaves, finely chopped

For Tadka -

red chilli, 1
urad dal (minapappu), 1/2 tsp
mustard seeds (avalu), 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds (jeera), 1/2 tsp
asafoetida (hing), little
curry leaves, optional
oil, 1 tsp

For Chana Dal Wadi -

chana dal, 1 cup soaked for 2 hours
green chillies, 2
ginger, 1/2 inch
salt, to taste
coriander powder (dhania powder), 1/2 tsp
oil, for deep frying

Preparation:

For making Chana Dal Wadis -

* Grind chana dal, green chilli, ginger, dhania powder and salt into a coarse paste without adding water. (as shown in one of the photographs above).

* Heat oil in a kadai, make them into small flat balls and deep fry. Drain the excess oil by placing them on a paper towel (or old news paper works too!). Keep them aside.

For making Kadhi -

* Beat yogurt for 5-10 mins, by adding about 1.5 cups of water, little by little water.

* Grind green chillies and ginger into a fine paste. Add to the buttermilk with salt and turmeric.

* In a small bowl, mix besan with little water (no lumps) and add to buttermilk above.

* Put this buttermilk mixture on low-medium flame. Keep stirring continuously, till the liquid becomes thick and there is no longer the raw taste of besan.

* In a small pan, heat a tsp of oil and add all the tadka ingredients one-by-one. Add the tadka to kadhi.

* Add the chana dal wadis as well and let them soak in the kadhi liquid for some time. Garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves.

* Serve with hot rice.


Soak the wadis in kadhi for some time, so that they absorb all the flavours...

until next time,

22 comments :

  1. Very nice post siri! I really enjoyed myself readin it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my! Jaw-dropping post with pics! I mean it, pics are really really awesome, Siri! Recipe is so good and authentic. You much resembles of your Amma. Give my regards to her. Moms are always best! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yumm .. Goes soo well wid some jeera rice

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks so yummy and beautiful pics

    ReplyDelete
  5. Something about our moms and their cooking right! I always hope my daughter cherishes my cooking as much as i cherish my moms :)
    Kadhi looks perfect for Bangalore weather right now... Love the photo Siri.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful post...and love to the girl in green..she is a darling!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I envy you siri nothing can beat cooking with mom and the best is when she cooks and we just eat or take the photos :)

    I love kadhi..bookmarked the recipes :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Siri nothings beats cooking with amma..:) great shots :) great recipe\ bookmarked :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. ur parents are the sweetest couple ever!!!!! i dont think my husband and I can even bear to be in the same kitchen at the same time :P Lovely shots... and that is such a cute family pic - are u the little one that your mom is carrying? Or the older girl with long beautiful hair?

    ReplyDelete
  10. A big hug to you all babes - Mittu, Sonia, Deesha, Sharmilee, Chinmayie, DK and Sushma.

    Sarah - Thanks a lot. Same is the case with me too. I don't think myself and Srini can cook together in harmony ;-)..I am the older girl in green.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such a lovely wonderful post Siri. I think you look like you mom. And indeed your parens make such a lovely couple, I do'nt remember my dad, but my mom used to say he makes the best dishes and then she adds ofcourse it tasted good as almost half of my oil was finished when he cooked.Never had this dish but it looks so so good.Have fun with you mom in the kitchen and I am so jealous you can eat all her delicious food.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You look so cute and adorable Siri. Kadhi looks absolutely delicious.. Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. lovely pics.... u still look the same lil girl siri... love the family and the story behind the happy union.... may god bless you all... coming to your recipe.... i shall try it this weekend ;)) thanks for posting it :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mums are like that Siri, mine is the same. U luk so cute in that Green dress, traditional and colourful.

    The KAdhi luks wonderful, I wanted to ask if we can steam these Wadis. I usually do that with Moong Daal but have never done with Chana Dal.

    Tc

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ma's recipes are always the best. Your pics are getting better day by day Siri!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a lovely kadhi and wadi combo!!! Must try, i love kadhi and enjoy sipping it just as, this combo will be a meal in itself for me, thanks to ur Mom!
    P.S I love the loooooong gajra in ur hair! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Loved reading the little story behind this recipe... such cute family pics. The dish looks tantalizing.. now i know what im cooking tomo :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. superb photographs! :) And I do that often too. Mom cooks & I click! :) Its funny how we all feel our moms are the best chefs in the world. And yet, we have food blogs & they don't! ;) Its nice to have amma's corner in the blog.. can be like an ode to the woman who influenced your cooking! Really cute pictures! LOL at the hair full of Kanakaambaram flowers! :D My mom used to do that to me until I turned 18 & flatly refused her making me look like a village belle! :D
    -
    Kavi
    (Edible Entertainment)
    Ongoing events:
    Jingle All The Way &
    Microwave Easy Cooking
    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Loved your blog...first time here.Happy to follow you.
    Great kadi recipe with beautiful pictures..

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely pics - thanks for sharing! and the recipe for this delicious kadhi, I am such a sucker for any yoghurt based recipe- the wadas are irresistible!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I would love to have it with plain rice.

    ReplyDelete
  22. awesome dish love the wada so exciting to ea and must be very flavorful siri.

    ReplyDelete

'Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it' ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks for taking time to leave your feedback.

Note: Any comments with external links will not be published.

Siri

 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...