Idly - Vadakari

I have never tasted idly-vadakari in my life until my last vacation to India.. I happened to have it for breakfast in one of the restaurants and it was delicious! Idly can pair up with lots of side items and I feel this is one the best combinations… The first time when I made it a few months ago, it came out ok.. but not even close to my restaurant experience.. I didn’t want to give up and tried a few more times altering a few ingredients to make it taste as close as the restaurant one.. Finally, I think I am almost there!

This is a great breakfast for a relaxed Saturday morning… Ingesting a few fluffy idlis along with vada kari and a hot cup of filter coffee in the morning… simply sensational!

Here is my version of vadakari..

Ingredients:

Onion – 1 medium
Tomatoes – 1 medium
Ginger – 1 inch
Garlic – 2 flakes
G.chilly – 1
Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
Corriander Powder – 2 tsp
Cinnamon – 1 inch
Cloves – 2
Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
Coconut milk – 1 cup

For the vada:

Kadalai Paruppu (chana dal) – 1 cup
Red chilly – 1
Garlic – 1 flake
Fennel seeds (saunf) – 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. Soak Chana dal for 1 hour in warm water and grind to a thick paste (but not too fine) with salt and the ingredients mentioned above for vadas.
2. Make medium sized vadas and deep fry them in oil. Don’t worry about the shape because these will have to be crumbled into pieces later on.
3.Chop the onions and tomatoes.
4.Make a paste with ginger, garlic, g.chilly, cinnamon, cloves & fennel seeds (use less water).
5.Heat oil in a pan, and fry the onions until golden brown. Then add the above paste and fry in medium heat until the raw smell goes (about 5-8 mins). I usually fry for 5 mins and leave it covered for a few more mins..
6.Then add the tomatoes, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt (add less salt as vadas have salt too) and fry for a few mins..
7.Meanwhile, shred the vadas into small pieces and add it after the tomatoes are fried well..
8.Finally add the coconut milk and a half cup of water and mix well.. You can alter the water qty until you reach your desired consistency.
9.Boil for a few mins and garnish with coriander leaves..

Awesome vadakari is ready!