Amma’s Rasam Vadai / Rasam Vada / Rasa Vadai / Rasa Vada – Restaurant Style Melt in Mouth Vadai’s

Amma makes the best rasa vadai. It just melts in your mouth and i am damn sure you crave for more. This is not like your normal rasam vadai in which you dunk paruppu vadai in rasam. This is a special rasam vadai. The vadai is round and it absorbs the rasam best and just melt in your mouth.

The batter has only channa dal and urad dal. The most important part is grinding the batter. You have to grind the batter till it is fluffy and light. That will make the vadai fluffier when fried and melt in mouth when soaked in rasam. So hope you will try this and let me know what you think.

Preparation Time : 15 mins
Soaking Time : 5 to 8 hours
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Resting Time : 20 to 30 mins
Makes : 20 to 25 vadai


Ingredients:

Channa dal / Kadalai Paruppu – 2 cup
White Whole Urad dal / Ulundu Paruppu – 1/2 cup
Curry leaves a handful
Oil for deep frying


For Rasam:
Water – as needed
Chilli powder – 1 tblspn or to taste
Coriander powder – 2 tblspn
Salt to taste
Tamarind Pulp – 3 tblspn or to taste
Garlic – 6 cloves crushed
Asafoetida / Hing / Kaya podi – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves a handful


Method:

Wash and Soak channa dal and urad dal for atleast 5 hours. 

Drain them and add it to a blender or grinder and make into a fine paste. Dont add too much water, add water slowly and grind this till the batter is nice and fluffy. Since there is urad dal, the batter will foam up while grinding. You need that, this will make the vadai melt in your mouth.

Once your have ground, add curry leaves in it and mix well. You dont need to add salt.

Heat oil for deep frying and drop small vadai in oil and fry them till golden. Drain them.

Make rasam. Take some water in a large pot, add in all the ingredients and mix well. Add some more water, these vadai will absorb lots of rasam.

Heat this up, add a handful of curry leaves to the rasam and boil it up.

Once it reaches boil add the vadai and boil it for 5 mins. Switch off the flame and let it sit for 15 to 20 mins till they are soaked.

Serve warm or hot.

Notes:

1)Grind the dals well till it is fluffed up. This will make the vadai melt in mouth. 
2)Dont add too much water, add little water and keep on grinding. 
3)My mom uses her wet grinder to grind the batter.
4)Never add salt to the vadai, since we add salt to rasam, the vadai will absorb those salt. If you add salt to vadai also, then the vadai will become too salty.
5)Taste the rasam and adjust the salt, chilli powder, tamarind to your taste. It should be little on the intense side, since the vadai will absorb most of them.
6)Dont fry the vadai on too high heat. Then it will brown on outside and wont cook properly in the middle.
7)You dont need to add too much spices or onions to the vadai batter. But if you need you could add some finely chopped onions.

Pictorial:

Soak Channa dal & Urad dal

Drain & Add it to blender

Blend them to a smooth paste

Look at the finger marks. I clicked this pic when my mom was making vadai

You only need to add curry leaves to this

Take a small portion

Drop into hot oil

Fry them

Drain them

Take little water in a huge pot

Add some chilli powder

Season with some salt

Add some coriander powder

Add some crushed garlic

Some tamarind

Some hing

Now mix the tamarind in the water

Take the leftover out

Add some more water

You got to taste this rasam and adjust to your taste

Add lots of curry leaves and bring it to a boil

Drop the vadai and let them soak for a good 20 to 30 mins

Serve