Have you ever imagined that steamed can be soulful too, to give you a level of satisfaction that you feel it filling as well as healthy? I didn’t feel the magical taste and texture of this Maharashtrian delicacy Methi-Cothimbir Vadi(coriander is called kothimbir in the Marathi language) until I hadn’t tried to make it. Authentically this dish is prepared to add coriander leaves to the fermented chana dal but I had some fresh methi leaves also, so I decided to add both the greens. And the result was amazing enough to persuade me to make it quite often in my kitchen.
The best part of this recipe is that it requires a few ingredients that are easily available in our kitchens. The variations are numerous, some make it with besan/gram flour and some with moong and green gram. Many people deep fry the steamed Vadi and some shallow fry it. I give a simple tadka of mustard and sesame seeds to the steamed vadi which is a guilt-free version for me of this nutritious dish
Prep time – 9-10 hrs (soaking+ fermentation time) Cook time – 25 min Cuisine – Maharashtrian Course – Breakfast/Evening Snacks Author – Bharti Dhawan
INGREDIENTS FOR VADI
Chana dal/ split B
Dahi/curd – 2 tbsp
Finely chopped methi leaves – 1
Finely chopped coriander leaves – 1
Ginger, garlic and green chilly paste or finely chopped – 1 tsp each
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp or to taste
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp or to taste
Turmeric/haldi powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1
Whole cumin seeds – 1 tsp
INGREDIENTS For Tadka/Tempering
Oil – 1
Mustard seeds – 1
STEP BY STEP
1- Grind soaked chana dal coarsely and add whisked curd. Keep for fermentation overnight in winters but takes less time say 4-5 hrs in summers. After fermentation, the volume of the mix will rise
2- Grease a thali and prepare for steaming. For this add some water to the bottom of a kadahi. Keep a stand which is above the boiling water and prepare for the vadi mix
3- Add all the ingredients mentioned above for the
4- Pour the mix into the thali and place it on the stand. Cover the kadahi with lid and steam it at low flame for 20 minutes. Check with a knife, if it comes clean the
5- cut the steamed vadi into desired wedges and prepare for tadka/tempering.
6- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilies and til/sesame seeds. Allow them to crackle
7 – Pour the tadka over methi-kothimbir
Notes
1- If you don’t want the process of soaking and fermenting the chana dal, replace chana dal with besan/gram flour. Ferment the besan- greens batter instantly with baking soda or fruit salt. Follow the remaining process same as above
2- Steaming can be done in the microwave at convection mode. For this place the mould with the batter inside a baking tray with water up to 3/4 of its height
3- authentically the steamed vadi is deep-fried or shallow fried, but I have given a simple take to it, keeping healthier
