Batata vadas, at long last :-D.

Yay!! I finally made it. I mean, the batata-vadas and the blog-post :). I am out of my hibernation, atleast right this moment ;). Sorry for having left with that spider/star-anise staring at you :-D.

By now, you all know that i love playing hide and seek :-D. But every, now and then, you do come up with stuff, that's simply too tempting to resist, stuff that totally wakes you up. Our dear host of the Mad Tea Party, Anita, is the master-mind behind one such idea. Her love for potatoes, deep-fried goodness and mad tea parties is well known. Aloo+deep-frying+madness translated into poori-bhaji last year, and it's batata-vada this time around. So, Anita, Happy Blog Anniversary to you, and thank you for these rocking mad tea parties. Thank you for putting up with my lazy ways and for the enjoyable evening tea :).



Here's to madness and deep-fried goodness: batata-vadas.

Batata-vadas:

My recipe takes shape from the different versions I have enjoyed. Here's how I made it:

Batter:

• Chickpea flour (1 cup)
• Rice flour (1 tbsp.)
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp. coriander powder
  
• Salt (to taste)
• Red chilli powder (to taste)
• A pinch of baking soda or baking powder (optional)

Mix these ingredients and make it into a thick batter with water.

Potato mix:

• Two big potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed)
• Ginger-garlic paste (1 tsp., I used 1 tsp. grated ginger and 1/4 tsp. garlic powder )
• 1 serrano pepper (chopped fine)
• Cilantro, finely chopped
• Salt (to taste)
• Juice of half a lime/lemon
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 5-6 curry leaves
• A pinch of hing
  
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp. oil

Add ginger-garlic paste, chopped chilli peppers, cilantro leaves, salt and lime juice to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Spultter mustard seeds in hot oil, add hing, curry leaves and turmeric to it and add to the potato mix.

Frying and savoring:

Heat oil in a kadahi. Meanwhile, make round balls from the potato mix, dip it into the batter and fry them to golden, crispy perfection. Enjoy with a chutney of your choice. I love them with hot coconut chutney, thecha, or simply with salted small green chillies soaked in lime juice. But these ones, i had them with Sriracha sauce and a slice of toasted sourdough bread.


A perfect accompaniment to my evening tea. Best enjoyed when you share them with family and friends. When you can't, just think of all the good people around and have some on their behalf too :). Friends, this one is for you all. Anita, hope you enjoyed these. Sorry for the late entry-i promise i'll make up for it by singing and dancing to my heart's content :).