Alasanda Vada (Black eyed Peas croquettes)

Blogging Marathon#64: Week 4/ Day 1

Theme: Mega BM Bookmarked Recipes 

Dish: Alasanda Vada from Suma 

Can't believe we are starting the last week of this month's blogging marathon today. May seemed to have zoomed right past us. My theme for this week is 'Bookmarked dishes from last month's mega marathon'. It is an impossible task to pick just 3 dishes to make from more than 600 delicious dishes (24 bloggers * 26 days), but we have to start somewhere, right??

So for the first day, I made these Alasanda vada aka blackeyed peas vada from Suma. I actually made it right after she posted it on her blog. I had some oil leftover from frying these nimki and so I decided to use it wisely and make these yummy vada.

I've heard a lot about these black eyed peas vada but never tasted them before. The texture is very similar to chana dal vada but they taste a little different. They held up their shape beautifully while frying and came out crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Thanks to Suma, now I've added a new vada to my repertoire.

Recipe from Suma's Veggie Platter:

Alasanda Vada

Ingredients:

• 1cup Black eyed Peas/ Alasandalu
• 2~3 Green Chilies, chopped
• 1" Ginger piece, chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• ¼cup Cilantro, chopped
• 1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
• To taste Salt

Method:

1. Soak black eyed peas for 4~6 hours or overnight.
2. Drain the water thoroughly making sure that there's no excess water left in the beans, otherwise the batter might get too watery.
3. Grind black eyed peas along with green chilies, ginger, garlic, cilantro and salt into a coarse paste without adding any water. The mixture should hold its shape when squeezed.
4. Heat oil for deep frying.
5. Take a small lime size portion of the batter, lightly pat it down into a disc and gently place it in the hot oil. Depending on the size of your pan, fry about 4~6 vadas at a time. Make sure not to crowd the pan.
6. Fry on medium flame until vadas are golden brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot as is or with a chutney.

 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 64.