Kothimbir Wadi - vegan & deep fried

A classic traditional recipe from Maharashtra prepared with lots of fresh corriander, fresh spices and gram flour . I have already posted the shallow fried version of kothimbir wadi in my blog but the traditional and authentic version calls for deep frying of the Vadis. 

These vadis are cooked twice; once while steaming and second time while frying in oil or shallow frying , so the raw flavors of cilantro /coriander and gramflour are totally gone and the vadis tastes absolutely delicious. 

Maharashtrians love to have this snack and never miss an opportunity to indulge when fresh coriander is available in plenty .

Some other popular Maharashtrian delicacies which you may want to try

• Masale Bhaat
• Sabudana Vada 
• Kothimbir Vadi (shallow fried)
• Batata Vada (video recipe)
• Faraali Chivda 
• Moongacha Ambat (guest post)
• Basundi
• Dry fruit Chikki (video recipe)

It is Monday already and time to post our weekly FMBH theme post. This week it was my turn to suggest a theme and most of them voted for #MeeMarathi  - traditional Maharashtrian cuisine.  #CracklingPeanut was another choice which also had a good number of votes but MeeMarathi won hands down . So dear friends keep checking out my Facebook space for the wonderful recipes dished out by my fellow bloggers in the coming days which I shall be posting . It is my 8th week since I joined this lovely group of bloggers who have been dishing out lovely theme based recipes for 250+ weeks and now we are in the 258th week of Foodie Monday Bloghop. 

Preparation Time : 20 mins

Steaming Time : 15 mins

Frying Time : 10 mins

Complexity : medium

Ingredients 

1 medium bunch fresh corriander/kothimbir 

3 to 4 green chillies

150 gms besan/gram flour

1 tbsp rice flour

1 tsp finely chopped ginger 

2 small cloves garlic pods (optional)

2 tsp white sesame/safed til 

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp dhaniya powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1tsp sugar

Asafoetida as needed 

Salt as needed 

Method 

Wash the corriander to clean all the mud, remove all the roots, yellow and wilted leaves and chop them finely or give it a quick pulse in a food processor /chopper.

In a blender jar grind the ginger , green chillies and garlic to a fine paste with a little water..if yiy don't want garlic, skip that . I have not used garlic in my recipe .

In a wide mixing bowl, add the chopped corriander, ginger green chilli paste , salt , sugar , red chilli powder,haldi, dhaniya powder , Asafoetida and mix it nicely with your fingers such that all flavors get incorporated. 

Add the gram flour , sesame seeds , baking soda and rice flour to this corriander mixture and rub it well till it appears crumbly . Check for salt at this stage, if you want you can add some salt and spices.

Add water little by little and form a soft but stiff dough . 

Grease your palms and make cylindrical logs from the dough and place it in a steamer for 10 to 12 mins . Insert a knife into the steamed dumplings and it should come out clean.  That means they are steamed perfectly.  If you feel that they are undercooked continue cooking for another few mins.

Let them cool well. Now slice them into small roundels.  I kept these slices in the refrigerator for 30 mins before frying . By doing this the slices held the shape well and didn't crumble while frying .

Heat oil in a kadai and drop these slices one by one in the hot oil and fry them on medium flame .Donot crowd the oil with many slices.

Fry till they turn golden brown and appear crispy. Repeat the steps until all the slices are fried . Serve hot with chutney or tomato sauce. 

Linking this to week 258 - MeeMarathi