Vada Kootu Curry

Vada Kootu Curry

Vada Kootu Curry (A tasty dish of Tamil Cuisine in Thiruvananthapuram, made of vada, potato, onion, dry roasted coconut paste, coconut milk & seasoning. Goes well with Rice !!!!

Serves: 3 - 4

You will need

2 potatoes, cut into cubes
1 onion, cut into cubes (separate each layers)
300 ml (1 1/2 cups)
3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
100 ml thick coconut milk or 50 ml fresh cream

For vada:

1 cup (100 g) urad dal
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
200 ml oil (to fry vadas)

Method

Wash & soak urad dal in 2 cups of water for 1 hour. Drain out water and make a paste in a mixer. Sprinkle 1 - 2 tablespoon water while making the vada batter. Vada batter should be thick in consistency.

Heat oil in a kadai. Reduce heat to medium and drop teaspoons ( use small spoons which shape like ice cream scoop to get evenly round shape ) of the vada batter ( 6 - 7 vadas at a time ) and fry till golden color on both the sides.

Drain and place on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil. Keep aside.

For curry:

For coconut paste:

2 tablespoons grated coconut
3 red chillies
4 shallots / chuvannuli / sambar onion
1/2 teaspoon saunf (fennel / perumjeerakam)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds

Method

In an iron kadai, dry roast above ingredients on a low to medium heat and make a smooth paste in a mixer. Add 1 tablespoon water while making the paste.

Final preparation:

In a wide pan / bowl, boil potato cubes and onion slices with salt in 300 ml water (approximate cooking time 15 minutes). When it is almost done, add coconut paste and boil on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add extra 1/4 cup (50 ml) water if required.

Add deep fried vadas and boil for 5- 7 minutes on a low to medium heat. Switch off the heat.

Add 100 ml thick coconut milk and mix well gently. Another option is instead of adding thick coconut milk, add 50 ml (3 tablespoons) fresh cream. Then the gravy will be thick and light yellow in color.

For Seasoning:

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
5 shallots / chuvannuli / sambar onion, finely sliced
2 dried red chillies
1 spring curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add sliced shallots, red chillies and curry leaves. Stir fry on a medium heat till crisp and golden color. Pour the seasoning over vada curry and serve with rice.