Parippu Vada (Lentil Fritters / Pakora - Kerala style)

 

          Parippu Vada is a very popular Kerala style deep fried fritters made of chana dal and tuvar dal. They are absolutely easy to make and are an ideal tea-time snack / party snack. Few basic ingredients like onion, ginger, green chilies and curry leaves are needed to dish out these yummy vadas. You can also enjoy these fritters as an appetizer with any chutney. They tastes real yum. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 1 cup chana dal (Bengal Gram lentil)
• 1/3 cup tuvar dal (Pigeon Pea lentil)
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 tsp. ginger, grated
• 2 sprigs curry leaves, chopped
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
• salt to taste
• oil to deep fry

          Soak the lentils overnight or for a minimum of 4-5 hours. Then blend it coarsely without adding any water. 

          Now mix together with all the remaining ingredients (except oil) and keep aside. 

          Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Take a small portion of the mix and give it a round flat shape. 

          Gently drop it in the hot oil and fry on both sides till golden in colour. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve as a tea-time snack. 

                                  Blend the soaked lentils coarsely without adding any water. 

                                 Mix together with all the remaining ingredients (except oil).

                     Make round shaped flat balls out of the mix & drop them in the hot oil. 

    

                                 Fry on both sides till golden in colour.

                                  Drain on a kitchen towel.

                                   Enjoy as a tea-time snack. 

Mixed Dal Palak Pakora (Mixed Lentil Spinach Fritters)

          A bowl of hot and crispy pakoras is anytime welcome. If it happens to be a rainy day or a cold winter night, then the excitement reaches to another level. So how about trying out some mixed lentil and spinach pakoras / fritters? Enjoy these yummy small bites as a tea-time snack or as an appetizer with any chutney of your choice or tomato sauce. 

• 1/2 cup mixed dal, soaked overnight
• salt to taste
• 1" ginger
• 2 green chilies
• 2-3 tbsp. spinach puree
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• pinch of turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tsp. flax seed
• pinch of baking soda
• oil to deep fry

          Blend together all the above mentioned ingredients (except flax seed and oil) into a smooth paste. Add very little water only if needed. 

          Add the flax seed and the baking soda. Whisk well and refrigerate for an hour. 

          Heat oil in a pan and drop spoonful of it and fry on a medium flame till light golden in colour. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve with any homemade chutney or sauce. 

Kaali Dal Pakoras ( Black Gram Fritters)

          These are some yummy lentil fritters to lighten up your evenings. Relish them as a tea-time snack or as appetizers along with some green chutney or ketchup. Made from soaked kaali dal / urad dal (split black gram lentils with skin), they just turn out soft and delicious. Any leftover pakoras can be dipped into spiced yoghurt gravy and made into kadhi pakoras, which can be had either with any Indian bread or rice.

• 1/2 cup split kaali / urad dal with skin (black gram lentils), soaked for 2 hours
• salt to taste
• 2 dry red chilies
• 1 tsp. ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
• oil to deep fry

          Grind together the soaked dal (lentil) along with dry red chilies and ginger with very little water. Add salt and kalonji and mix well.

          Heat oil and drop spoonful of the batter and deep dry till golden. Drain on a paper napkin and serve them hot with any chutney or sauce.

Kadhi Pakora (Fried Lentil Fritters dipped in Yoghurt Sauce - North Indian Style)

       
          This is my version of Kadhi Pakora, a very common and a yummy dish in the Northern belt of India. It varies largely from one region to the other. There are some minor variations in the ingredients from the Kadhis of Punjab, Gujerat, Rajasthan and Haryana. 

          Basically it is fried lentil fritters dipped in yoghurt-chickpea based gravy and tempered with spices. In this version of mine, I prepared the fritters out of split gram lentil and tempered with panch phoron, a la Bengali style. It is best relished with steamed rice. But it does not taste bad either with any Indian bread.

Pakora-

• 1 cup moong dal (split green gram), soaked overnight
• 2 tbsp. rice flour
• 1 tsp. ginger, grated
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed
• 1-2 green chilly, chopped
• salt to taste
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• pinch of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp. kalonji (onion seeds)
• 1 tsp. sesame seeds
• oil to deep fry

Kadhi-

• 3/4 cup yogurt
• 2 tbsp. besan (chickpea flour)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. coriander-cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder

Tempering-

• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1 dry red chilly, broken
• 1 tsp. panch phoron (equal quantities of fennel, mustard, cumin, fenugreek and onion (kalonji) seeds
• 1/2 tsp. radhuni (celery seeds), (opt)
• 1/4 tsp. asafoetida (hing)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. ginger, grated
• 1 tsp. garlic, grated
• coriander leaves & chili powder to garnish

          Pakoras - Grind the soaked moong dal with very little water into a coarse paste. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, except oil and mix well. Keep aside.

          Kadhi - Make a batter with the yogurt and all other ingredients. Keep aside.

          Tempering - Heat ghee in a pan and temper with the red chilly, panch phoron and radhuni (opt). After it stops spluttering, add the asafoetida and the onion. Saute till light brown. add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds.

          Add the yoghurt-besan batter and bring it to a boil. Then simmer on low flame (patiently) for 15-20 minutes till slightly thick. Add the pakoras and further simmer for 2-3 minutes.

          Garnish with coriander leaves and red chili powder. Serve hot with either steamed rice or parathas/naan.