2013-11-08



Did you know that sesame and almond oils are great for the body and help to minimise mental and physical stress? Cold pressed coconut oil is also very good. It is great to coat the body, including your hair, once a week, giving yourself a self-massage in the mornings before your shower, or on a Sunday night perhaps before a relaxing bath. Try it, it is Wonderful!

Indian Snacks and Steamed Wheat Flour

I have not ventured into the world of Indian snacks or deep fried food very much. That is changing. When I saw the recipe for a Jaffna vadai, I was intrigued and had to try it.  This makes a great Diwali snack too.

The recipe uses steamed wheat flour. You can buy this from your Indian Grocery, but you can also make your own. Follow the instructions below for perfect steamed wheat flour.

(You can substitute the steamed wheat flour with rice flour if you wish. Dry roast it in a pan before using in the recipe. However, this would not be the traditional Paruthithurai Vadai then. )



Steamed Wheat Flour

Source : The Indian Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time:5 mins
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: makes about 1.5 cups or more.

ingredients
2 cups wheat flour (you can, of course, steam a lot more. Steam a Kg if you are going to use a lot)

method
Wrap the flour in a white cloth, or very fine cheesecloth. Before folding the cup, you can drizzle around a little sesame oil, about 1 – 1.5 tspn.

Heat water in a steamer, and place the cloth of flour in the steaming compartment. Steam for 2 hours.

The flour will be a semi hard mass. Break it apart with a fork and then put it through a sieve to obtain fine flour.

Keep the flour in an airtight container. Use it to make puttu, idiyappan, murukku, seedai etc.

Paruthithurai Vadai (Thattai Vadai)

Source : adapted from Sri Lankan Cuisine
Cuisine: Tamil, Jaffna, Sri Lankan
Prep time:5 mins plus 2 hours soaking time
Cooking time: 1 – 1.5 hours
Serves: makes 50 – 60.

ingredients
1 cup wheat flour

1 cup steamed wheat flour (see above)

split, skinless urad dal

2 – 3 green chillies (or to taste)

1 dried red chilli

1 white onion

2 branches curry leaves, chopped

1 Tblspn fennel seeds

Salt to taste

water as required

oil or ghee for frying

method
Soak the urad dal for 2 – 6 hours. Overnight is fine, or even put on to soak in the morning and make in the evening.

Grind the onion, green chillies and red chillies together to make a paste.

Mix all ingredients together except the water and oil. Mix well.

Now add enough water, gradually, until a nice dough is formed.

Roll the dough into small balls. You will get about 60.  Flatten each ball on a non-stick surface such as a silicone mat, pastry board or any flat surface. Press them out so that they are thin discs. Alternatively you can roll out the dough and cut discs with a small cookie cutter.

[I did it this way: greased my hands with a little ghee, and spread a tiny amount of flour on a board. Take 4 or 5 small balls, press them in your hands with your palm. Place onto the board and flatten out. Place them in the oil. Get 4 or 5 more discs ready, and while the previous lot is cooking, roll some more balls from the dough. In this way, it was a smooth process, and the dough was not sitting between making balls and cooking for more than a few moments. You will need to add more ghee to your hands and flour to the board periodically. If the dough sticks to the board use a cutting knife to slice underneath - it works well this way. ]

Deep fry the vadai in batches until they are golden brown. Once cooked, place on paper towel or grease absorbing paper.

Store for many days in an air tight container.

What is the chutney, I hear you ask? Hahaha, it is pesto. It goes great with these vadai for afternoon tea.

Enjoy!

Namaskaram.

From the Indian Series

Aloo Palak - Potatoes in Spinach Gravy

Beetroot and Carrot Salad – Indian Style

Carrot Sambal

Chana Chat with Chat Masala (Chickpeas)

Chickpeas with Ginger Root Salad

Daikon Radish Salad

Daikon Radish with Golden Pumpkin Salad

Kachumber – Indian Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad

Palak Pachadi (Spinach and Yoghurt)

Pomegranate and Banana Salad

Quick Sprouts Sundal

Red Lentil (Masoor Dal) Sprouts Sundal

Spinach Pachadi

Stir fried Mung Bean Sprouts

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Filed under: 11 Nov Sth; May Nth, Biscuits and Crackers, Diwali, Indian, Lentils, Grains, Rice and Nuts, VEGETARIAN Tagged: Diwali, Festivals, Indian cuisine, Jaffna, lentils, snacks, South Indian, Sri Lankan, Steamed wheat flour, Tamil Cuisine, urad dal, VEGETARIAN

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