THAYIR VADAI

Where do I even start with regarding this dish! One of the dishes that I have a personal connect with and something I find immense pleasure while cooking. This is a recipe that I have learnt from my mother in law. Follow it to the T and you have one sure crowd pleaser. This recipe does require some patience during preparation but the results are truly remarkable.

The trick behind getting a successful Thayir Vadai is to make sure the texture is creamy and silk like, and also to get the right balance of sourness. This dish is a family favourite and one for big occassions! Check this one out.

Ingredients

Urad dal—            1 cup

Curd—                   2 cups

Milk—                    ½  cup

Coconut—            2 tbsp

Green chilli—        1

Mustard seeds—   ½ tsp

Cumin seeds—      ½ tsp

Salt—                        1 ½ tsp

Fresh coriander leaves

Oil for frying.

Method

Soak urad dal for about two hours. Drain water and grind the urdal dal, sprinkle some water in between to get a smooth paste. You should get a fluffy texture. Grind together chilli and coconut with half a cup of curd. Beat together grinded paste,curd, milk and salt. Add enough water to get a buttermilk consistency. Heat one tsp oil add mustard seeds, when they splutter add the cumin seeds, fry, add this tempering to the buttermilk. Add the cut coriander leaves, reserve some. Pour the buttermilk mixture in a deep bowl. Heat oil in a kadai for frying. Add salt to the vadai batter. Wet your hand and make the shape of vadai and drop it into the oil carefully. Cook both sides in medium flame until golden in colour. Remove the vadai from oil and directly place it in the butter milk. You can fry 3-4 vadai at a time depending on the kadai size. Before adding the second batch of vadai to the buttermilk turn the first batch of vadai in the buttermilk. Repeat the same with rest of the vadai. Add some more buttermilk mixture over the thayir vadai and sprinkle fresh coriander leaves. Enjoy soft delicious Thayir vadai.