Rainy Days, Chai And Crispy Hot Parippu Vadas!

Thinking about it, I’ve been so naive about Delhi weather; these days there is one guaranteed question I shoot at every other Delhiite I meet – “till when will this ungodly weather continue?” If in May through July it was blazing hot summer, from August through October it is sweaty sultry weather. As much as I’ve started liking this place, I’ve realized that the weather here is something I will have to keep battling with almost every day! Harsh truth, but can’t have it the over way round too :(

But, even in this humid weather an occasional shower is so welcome and this Independence Day, rain gods finally decided to give us our peace; a couple of hours of heavy rain and the day went all cosy and great.

And what do you miss the most on such a rain drenched evening???

Ask me about it and there’s nothing, I mean nothing in this world I miss so dearly than dipping a spicy crispy parippu vada (deep fried fritters made of black gram) in a hot cup of tea and when biting into this heavenly goodness watch the nature pour to its glory. Now you may ask, if I have to eventually dip it in tea, why worry about the crispiness. Well, call me (and the whole of Kerala) crazy, but that’s the way it should be, that’s the way we like it and that’s the way parippu vada likes it! (Did I just flash Arnab Goswami there?)

Talking about parippu vada, there is the homemade version and then there are those you get at chaya kadas (road side tea stalls) and railway stations. I love the latter any day (yes, I am sorry to disappoint you)! And I still do not know what makes theirs so different from homemade versions – is it the size or the taste or the surplus of oil that newspaper sucks in… LOL If you ever visit Kerala, and if you ever happen to take a train journey and if your train itinerary is en-route Shornoor then I beg you to try the vadas you get there at the platform. I’ve found those to be THE BEST, provided the quality still remains the same!

So this Independence Day, memories gushed in like crazy and I had to recapture the moment (minus the rain) 5 days later. :P

Now there is only one thing that can replace rain in this whole equation – “naatu varthamanam” or “the usual chit chat”. So the same day I was lucky enough to visit a good friend of mine and I made sure to carry a couple of vadas for her as well, which we enjoyed over priceless chit-chat and an awesome cup of elaichi tea!

In case you are wondering what this is and how to make it, here comes the recipe –

Parippu Vada a.k.a Lentil Fritters

YOU NEED:

Chana dal (Black gram), washed and soaked for about an hour

Onions, 1 ½ medium, chopped

Green chilies, 3, chopped

Ginger, about ½ inch piece, chopped

Hing (asafoetida), ½ tsp

Curry leaves, a few springs

Salt, to taste

Oil for deep frying

HOW TO:

Heat enough oil for deep frying in a wok.

In a blender, mix onions, chilies and ginger in low speed for a couple of seconds to get a coarsely ground texture.

Thoroughly dry the soaked chana dal (you can do that by emptying the dal into a netted colander so that water drains and later tapping with a clean kitchen towel) and in a blender mix it only for a minute or so. The dal should attain a crushed texture and it is alright to have a few whole pieces, however, we are not looking for a paste consistency here.

Now, mix crushed dal with coarsely ground onions, chillies and ginger, along with hing, curry leaves and salt.

By now oil will be hot enough. Slightly oil your palm. Make gooseberry size balls out of the dough and place it in the center of your palm. Using the other palm press the balls to get disc shape. Now, if you all know the reason why we leave that whole in donuts, the same principle applies here as well. Since the size of the balls itself is small, you can do away with it, but to be on the safer size, you can make the whole, so that you do not end up with vadas with raw dal in the centre. I made it both ways.

Now, slip in the discs into the hot oil one by one (depending on the size of your work you should be able to do 4-6 or more in a batch) and deep fry until both sides turn nicely brown and crispy.

Drain in kitchen tissue and enjoy hot while dipping into a cup of hot tea over interesting chit-chat.

Rain is a luxury and if you manage to get that I would say you’re the luckiest soul on earth in that moment! Bon appetite!