Thursday, July 17, 2014

Dr. Mantena's Ramzan Special - Dahi Vada



Today’s update in Dr. Mantena’s Kitchen is “Ramzan Special - Dahi Vada”. The regular dahi vada is prepared with urad dal in most parts of the country. But this Ramzan special dahi vada is made with chana flour (chick pea flour). If you are a Hyderabadi, then you are familiar with this recipe. “Ramzan mein kaun bade? Dahi Vade…!” I think every Hyderabadi is familiar with this popular slogan on Dahi Vada. Such is the popularity of this dish in Hyderabad. This is especially prepared during the month of Ramzan for breaking the day long fast by Mohemmadan brothers. It is so popular during Ramzan that it is sold in every Irani hotel, haleem and tea points in the evening. Hyderabad is not only famous for Biryani but also for haleem during Ramzan season. Whether it is Hindu or Mohemmadan or Christian everyone cherish these dishes. Dahi Vada is the next popular Hyderabadi dish after Biryani and Haleem that is loved by one and all including the vegetarians. The regular dahi vada available in the market or prepared at home by many is deeply fried in oil which is really harmful to the health. Last week I felt like eating dahi vada and went to a hotel to get 2 plates of dahi vada. Since it is available once in a year I wanted to give it a try knowing that is deep fried in oil. But on reaching the hotel, I found them really unhygienic as it was kept open, placed at the roadside where hundreds of vehicles are passing throwing dust on them and flies and other insects sitting on them. I stepped back and observed other places and found the same situation till I reach home. This incident inspired me to make a healthy and delicious dahi vada at home without oil. I and my wife discussed what we can do to make it delicious and healthy without oil, salt and other harmful tastes. Last Sunday we succeeded in making a very delicious and healthy dahi vada. We even served it to a guest informing the way it was cooked without oil and salt and offered him to add salt if he wants. He was really surprised to have eaten something without oil and salt for the first time without any difficulty. Let us now not waste any time and go in the details of making this wonderful recipe.

Cooking Time:
20-25 mins

Serving:
2 people

Ingredients:

1. Chick pea flour     -        2 cups
2. Yogurt                -        ½  kg
3. Cumin seeds        -        1 tbs
4. Turmeric             -        ¼ tbs
5. Green chilies        -        5 nos.
6. Curry Leaves        -       5 nos.
7. Coriander Leaves   -      1 bunch

Preparation: 

1. Take two cups of chick pea flour in a bowl, add little water and make soft sticky dough as shown in the picture below.

 

2. Light up your stove, place a pan over it and put the dough on the pan forming small vadas and press with your fingers to give the shape shown in the picture below. Then cover the pan with a lid for 5-6 minutes so that the vadas get cooked well. Then turn the vadas upside down and cook for another 5 minutes. After turning the vadas they look beautiful brown in color. After cooked for 5-6 minutes remove them from the pan and place it in a dish.


3. If it was a regular dahi vada then the work was over just by adding them in yogurt. But in this we need to make a kadi (pulusu) of yogurt for the vadas. Since we are not using any salt, we need to buy or make sour yogurt for this dish. Sourness of the yogurt will supplement the taste of salt to a great extent. Let us now make the kadi for our vadas. 

 

4. You need ½ kg of sour yogurt for this. Take yogurt in a dish or bowl and blend it well with a blender or spoon. Add 3 glasses of water in it and stir it well to make some butter milk for the kadi and vadas to soak. By the time you prepare kadi for the vadas; soak these vadas in 1 glass of buttermilk. Usually they are soaked in water but since we are not using any salt we soak them in butter milk.


5. Now light up the stove again and put a pan over it. Add ½ tbs of urad dal (split black gram), curry leaves, green chilies and roast them till they turn dark or brown. 

 

6. Add prepared butter milk into it and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Add roasted and powdered cumin seeds and turmeric in the above mentioned quantity and let it cook for another 5 minutes. In Dr. Mantena’s system of cooking herbs and spices are occasionally used for special dishes as this one. 


8. Once the kadi is cooked, take it in a dish, add vadas into it and season it with chopped coriander leaves for great taste and aroma.



Serve the dahi vadas hot and enjoy. We enjoyed this dish very much and hope you are also going to make and enjoy this Ramzan season with delicious and healthy dahi vadas in Dr. Mantena style. Most people complain stomach problems with items made with chana flour but trust me you are going to enjoy this dish without any problem. Since they are cooked oil and salt free you can eat as many without any trouble. You can take it as breakfast or evening snack.

I hope you liked this update and keep watching the space for more interesting updates in coming future.

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