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JEYASHRI SURESH
This is a simple Indian snack made with sweet corn, lentils, spices and herbs.
It has a unique taste thanks to the combination of crushed corn, onion, capsicum, carrot and coriander leaves.
The vadai makes a good evening snack along with masala tea. A spicy chutney is a great accompaniment and I recommend a mint almond dip for the vadai. The vadai also pairs well with curd rice.
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Makes: 12 pieces
Ingredients Sweet corn: 1 cup Gram flour: ¼ cup Rice flour: ¼ cup Red chilli powder: 2 tsp Fennel seeds: 1½ tsp Turmeric powder: ½ tsp Salt: as needed Capsicum (chopped finely): ¼ cup Carrot (grated): 3 tbsp Onion (chopped finely): 1 Coriander leaves: ¼ cup Oil: for deep-frying
Method 1. If you are using fresh corn, there is no need to pre-cook it. 2. If you are using frozen corn, thaw it and pat dry. 3. Put the corn in a mixer and pulse it once or twice - do not turn it into a paste. 4. Put the corn in a bowl and add the other ingredients. 5. Mix well. Add 1-2 tbsp of rice flour or gram flour if the dough is not binding. 6. Heat oil over medium flame for deep frying. 7. Grease your hands before taking a lemon-size portion of the dough. 8. Shape the dough into a vadai and gently drop it into the oil. 9. Do not crowd the pan. 10. Flip the vadai to ensure it is cooked thoroughly. 11. Remove the vadai once it becomes golden brown and place it on a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
Notes 1. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for two days. 2. You can add 2 tsp of garam masala instead of fennel seeds but fennel really enhances the taste of the vadai. 3. You can also add finely-chopped mint leaves to the sweet corn vadai.
Jeyashri Suresh runs the vegetarian food website www.jeyashriskitchen.com
