Rasam Vadai Recipe is a popular & comforting South Indian Appetizer or Traditional Breakfast made with Lentil Fritters. Rasam Vada made with paruppu vada soaked in a tangy rasam till it gets soft and melt in mouth. This rasa vadai is perfect for cold winter days which soothes our soul. Learn how to make Authentic rasam vada and my Amma's Rasam Bonda with step by step pictures and video.
Rasam Vada
This is one dish which we make on all special day, hubby's favourite dish. Usually we buy paruppu vada from tea shops to serve with our evening tea. Leftover paruppu vadai is stored in fridge and the next day we add it to boiling rasam to make this rasam vada which is served for breakfast with idli or dosa.
Table of Contents
About Rasam Vadai
Rasam vadai also known as rasa vada, rasam vada or rasam bonda. It is a traditional Popular South Indian breakfast or appetizer served mainly in vegetarian restaurants with typical breakfast idli, dosa, upma or ven pongal.
It is nothing but fried lentil vada also known as paruppu vada which is soaked in Tamarind soup known as Rasam. For this vada we make a simple version of rasam. I made a simple rasam for this, but you can make my tomato rasam to soak the vada.
The first version which I have shared is an authentic recipe which is made with paruppu vadai. It has chana dal, onions, chillies, curry leaves and ginger. The vada is soaked in tamarind soup made with garlic, chilli powder, cumin powder, tamarind juice, asafoetida and curry leaves.
The second recipe which I have shared is my mom's recipe known as Rasam bonda. The batter for that 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.
Family Favorite Rasam Vada
Amma makes the best rasam vadai. It is very different from our traditional recipe. That vada is made with split chana dal and urad dal which is soaked and ground till smooth. The vadai batter is shaped like small round bondas which is then fried and soaked in rasam. It absorbs the rasam like a sponge and just melt in your mouth. I have shared the version of my mom's melt in mouth rasam vadai below so make sure you check the complete post.
Similar Recipes,
Curd Vadai
Masala Vadai
Medu Vada
Rasam Vadai Ingredients
Rasam | South Indian Soup - For this recipe, an Indian soup known as "Rasam" is the main ingredients. It is a thin soup made with tamarind, garlic, spice powders, curry leaves and salt. You can use any of your favorite recipe for making rasam. Traditionally tomatoes are not used in the rasam which we make for rasam vadai. It is made with tamarind water, cumin powder, chilli powder, garlic, curry leaves, asafoetida and salt. Very simple and basic recipe.
Split Chana Dal - use split chana dal or gram dal for 2 hours before grinding. It is also known as kadalai paruppu. This is the dal which is used for making paruppu vada.
Onions - use finely chopped onions or shallots in the vada mixture. Don't add too much onions else the lentil mixture may get watery.
Green Chillies- this is optional, but make sure you chop them very finely.
Ginger - ginger helps in digestion since this is made with dal.
Curry Leaves - add flavour aroma when frying.
Vadai for Making Rasam Vadai
There are two ways and two recipes for making paruppu vada used in Rasam vadai. Paruppu vadai | parippu vada is used in making this dish. It is often referred to a masala vadai. But Amma's recipe for vada is made using a combination of chana dal and urad dal which results in spongier and melt in mouth vadai.
Paruppu Vadai | Masala Vada
This is a traditional and served across many restaurants during breakfast. It is made with soaked chana dal which is strained completely. Grind chana dal to a coarse mix without adding water. Finely chopped onions, green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves is mixed with the ground chana dal mix. This is your vada mixture. Small portions are taken from this and flattened. Fry the paruppu vada till golden brown and soak them in the prepared hot rasam.
Mom's Paruppu Bonda
This is my mom's version which is a family favorite. She soaks chana dal also known as vadai paruppu with some whole white urad dal for few hours. Grind them in a blender or wet grinder till fluffy with minimum water. The mixture will be thick and fluffy like a medu vada batter. Small portions are taken from the mixture and dropped in hot oil like small bondas. Fried bondas are soaked in rasam for few minutes and served. This is more melt in mouth texture.
Rasam Vada | Rasam Vadai (2 Ways)
Authentic | Traditional Recipe - Fried paruppu vada or masala vada is soaked in hot rasam made with tamarind, garlic, chilli powder, cumin powder, asafoetida and curry leaves. The resulting traditional rasam vada has some texture to it from the coarse chana dal.
Mom's recipe - Quite unusual recipe which is made with my mom's secret recipe. The batter is made with chana dal and urad dal. The batter is fried like dumplings or bonda and soaked in rasam. This version of rasam vada is more melt in mouth texture and is a family favorite.
How to Make Rasam for Rasam Vadai
Extracting Tamarind Pulp
1)Start by soaking a small lemon size tamarind in water for 10 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind with water and extract the pulp. Strain the tamarind to get tamarind pulp.
Making Rasam Mixture
2) Take tamarind pulp in a large kadai or pot which can hold the rasam and vadai. Add more water as per required. I used around 3 cups of water.
3) Add in 1 tbsp of roasted cumin powder and 1 tbsp chilli powder. I also added a good dash of asafoetida (around 1 tsp).
4)Add salt to taste and lots of crushed garlic. I crushed a whole bulb of garlic with their skins on in a mortar and pestle and added those. I like to use lots of crushed garlic which adds wonderful flavour.
Boiling Rasam
5)Add a handful of curry leaves and bring it to a boil. Taste and adjust the salt, tamarind and spice level accordingly. Keep this warm and set aside.
Paruppu Vadai for Rasam Vadai
Grinding Chana Dal
6)Take soaked strained chana dal in a blender. Make sure there is not much water. Grind them or pulse them few times so it is coarse in texture. Let few chana dal be left whole.
Making Paruppu Vadai Mixture
7)Take the coarsely ground chana dal mix in a bowl. Add in chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves.
8)Add a pinch of salt and asafoetida and mix well. The mixture has to be thick. Don't use too much onions else it may leave out water which may make the mixture wet.
Shaping & Frying Vadai
9)Take small portion of the vadai mixture. Flatten it slightly with your hands like this.
Frying Vadai
10)Drop the vadai in hot oil and fry the vada in batches till golden brown.
11)Vadai is fried till crispy and golden brown.
Soaked Vadai in Rasam
12)Soak the fried vada in hot rasam and boil for 5 minutes so it absorbs the rasam better. Serve rasam vadai hot and enjoy.
How to Make Mom's Rasam Bonda
Making Bonda Batter
1)This is my amma's recipe. Take soaked chana dal and soaked urad dal in a bowl for 2 to 3 hours.
2)Take the strained chana dal and urad dal in a blender and grind till smooth and fluffy. Don't use much water when grinding. The batter has to be thick and fluffy.
3)Take the thick batter in a bowl. Add in curry leaves and mix well. This is your chana dal and urad dal batter. Amma don't add salt to the batter, the vada absorbs the salt
Frying Bonda
4)Take small portion of the bonda mixture and drop in hot oil and fry till golden brown. This will take around 3 to 4 minutes.
5)Fry the bonda till golden brown.
Soaking Bonda in Rasam
6)Drop the bonda in the hot rasam (recipe above) for few minutes. It may take around 30 minutes for the bonda to soak in rasam. Serve melt in mouth rasam bonda hot.
7)Serve rasam bonda hot.
Expert Tips
- Grind the dals well till it is fluffed up. This will make the vadai melt in mouth. Don't add too much water, add little water and keep on grinding.
- My mom uses her wet grinder to grind the batter.
- 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.
- 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. You don't need to add too much spices or onions to the vadai batter. But if you need you could add some finely chopped onions.
- Don't fry the vadai on too high heat. Then it will brown on outside and wont cook properly in the middle.
Vada (Vadai Recipes) to Try
📖 Recipe Card
Rasam Vadai | Rasam Vada Recipe (Rasam Bonda)
Equipment
- Cooking pot
- Grinder
Ingredients
Traditional Rasam Vadai
- 2 cups Split Chana Dal (Kadalai Paruppu)
- 1 medium Onion chopped finely
- 3 Green Chillies chopped finely
- 1 tbsp Ginger chopped finely
- 2 sprig Curry Leaves
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Amma’s Rasam Bonda
- 2 cups Split Chana Dal (Kadalai Paruppu)
- ½ cup White Whole Urad dal
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- Oil for deep frying
Tamarind Rasam Recipe
- 1 lemon Tamarind lemon size
- 4 cups Water
- 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Chilli Powder
- 15 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 tsp Asafoetida
- Salt to taste
- 2 sprigs Curry leaves
Instructions
How to make Rasam for Rasam Vada
- Start by soaking a small lemon size tamarind in water for 10 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind with water and extract the pulp. Strain the tamarind to get tamarind pulp. Take tamarind pulp in a large kadai or pot which can hold the rasam and vadai. Add more water as per required. I used around 3 cups of water. Add in 1 tbsp of roasted cumin powder and 1 tbsp chilli powder. I also added a good dash of asafoetida (around 1 tsp). Add salt to taste and lots of crushed garlic. I crushed a whole bulb of garlic with their skins on in a mortar and pestle and added those. I like to use lots of crushed garlic which adds wonderful flavour. Add a handful of curry leaves and bring it to a boil. Taste and adjust the salt, tamarind and spice level accordingly. Keep this warm and set aside.
How to Make Vadai for Paruppu Vada
- Soak chana dal for 2 to 3 hours. Strain it completely. Add it to blender and grind coarsely. Now add salt and other ingredients except oil and mix well.
- Take small portion and flatten it slightly. Fry it in hot oil till golden and crispy. Strain using slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the fried vada in hot rasam and simmer for 10 to 15 mins Now turn off the heat and cover the pot, soak it for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.
How to Make Rasam Bonda
- Wash and Soak channa dal and urad dal for at least 2 to 4 hours. Strain them and add it to a blender or grinder and make into a fine paste. Don’t 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 you have ground, add curry leaves in it and mix well. You don't need to add salt.
- Heat oil for deep frying and drop small vadai in oil and fry them till golden. Strain them and set aside.
- Now add this to hot rasam. Switch off the flame and let it sit for 15 to 20 mins till they are soaked. Serve warm or hot.
Notes
- Grind the dals well till it is fluffed up. This will make the vadai melt in mouth. Don't add too much water, add little water and keep on grinding.
- My mom uses her wet grinder to grind the batter.
- 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.
- 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. You don't need to add too much spices or onions to the vadai batter. But if you need you could add some finely chopped onions.
- Don't fry the vadai on too high heat. Then it will brown on outside and wont cook properly in the middle.
Nutrition
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Chellaswapan
wow! this vadas are entirely new for me. definetely I'll try those yummy vadas.