Paruppu Vadai or Aama Vadai is a traditional dish made as an offering for any pooja or auspicious occasions. It is known as Aam Vade in Kannada , Sennaga pappu Garelu in Telugu, Parippu Vada in Malayalam.
We prepare this vada using 3 types of dals/pulses ; channa dhall , udad dhall & thoor dhall . The addition of udad dhall gives the required softness to the vada and doesn't make it dry while the thoor dhall adds some crunch and channa dhall is the main ingredient which gives the flavor and taste .
Also known as Muparuppu Vadai because we use 3 varieties of lentils .Moonu in Tamizh is 3 & when combined as a word it is used as "Mu" short for 3 .
In most Tamil Brahmin homes,unfailingly paruppu vadai is made during
- Bhogi - a day before Makar Sankranti
- Avani Avittam - special day for the men to change their sacred thread (janui/yagnopaveetham)
- Saraswathi Pooja / Ayudha Pooja - 9th day of Navratri
Apart from these occasions, you can also prepare the paruppu vadas as a tea time snack or as an appetiser for parties and get togethers.
Offering to the God as prasad /bhog means onion and garlic are omitted making it different from the Masala Vada or Dal Vada that uses onion , garlic and whole spices like saunf/fennel, jeera , pudina /mint etc . Some people do not use ginger also while preparing for Prasad depending on the tradition followed in their homes .My recipe uses ginger as we don't have the practice of skipping ginger for prasad. Please do use ginger and asafoetida a little liberally in this recipe to avoid bloating or flatulence as lentils take a while to digest .
If you have been following me on Facebook, you would have noticed, I am doing a prasad series for Navratri where in I post one traditional recipe every day,which is offered to Devi Ma as bhog during the 9 days . If you aren't following do follow me on Facebook to stay updated with my latest posts .
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This being the joyous and festive week of Navartri - a festival that truly celebrates the Women and Women Empowerment we at FMBH decided to glorify week 269 (#navaratriNavras) by sharing special Navaratri Recipes which are prepared in our homes as part of the festive ritual .
The theme was suggested by Mayuri ji of Mayuri's Jikoni and by now all my readers would know what a talented cook she is . If you are looking for a sugar free sweet indulgence for Diwali ,then her delicious Emirati Sweet Batheeth is the perfect find.
Navratri is celebrated across India in various ways like
- Bomma Kolu / Golu/ Bombe Habba of Tamil Nadu & Karnataka
- Durga Pooja of Kolkatta
- Dandiya Raas & Garba of Gujarat
- Mysore Dassara Festival is a spectacular event year on year conducted by the royal family of Mysore Maharaja.
Ladies eagerly wait for this Navratri Season as these 9 days are solely dedicated to us.Pandal hopping for Durga Pooja, Golu hopping and Garba Ramwanu in Gujarat are all ways by which ladies socialize with their friends and flaunt their beautiful sarees , jewelleries and talent and spend some time for themselves.
Not only in India , now Navratri is celebrated world over by our Indian Diaspora communities and it feels great to know that we haven't given up our culture and traditions.
In my mom's home we had the tradition of keeping Golu and I would look forward to it with great enthusiasm. We had a vast collection of dolls and it used to be fun planning the theme and set up well in advance and go about making arrangements for it . A small glimpse for you all from yester years . Pardon the poor pic quality, these are clicked during times when I was a novice in photography.
I can go on and on about Golu for it makes me go down the memory lane and recollect the fond memories of the enthralling 9 days with a constant flow of guests and friends who would come over visiting us for the golu . There would be so much positivity in the air and divine vibrations of Maa Shakti can be felt in totality.
What is Golu / Bomma Kolu ?
- GOLU is a display of Dolls arranged on steps like structure which are odd in number like 1 , 3, 5 , 7 , 9 steps etc .
- Traditionally beautifully colored clay dolls of various Gods and Goddess & Mythological story related dolls would be on the display and these dolls are handed down from generations. Carefully packed and stored for use year on year.
- Slowly, with social awareness and creativity, dolls with social themes also got added to the collection and people who display golu started presenting various themes to bring related to current affairs and social responsibilities.
- Some must have dolls on display which are common in all homes who keep Golu are
◇ 3 devis - Durga, Lakshmi , Saraswati
◇ Dasavatharam - 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu
◇ Ashtalakshmi - 8 forms of Devi Lakshmi,
◇ Idols of Ganesha , Ram Lakshman Sita , Krishna ,Hanuman , Karthikeya etc
Having spoken so much about how we celebrate Navratri at home, needless to say Prasad or Bhog is an important aspect and has to be offered daily morning and evening for the 9 days.
Let us now have a detailed look at the recipe of Paruppu Vada . We prepare and offer this on Saraswati Pooja/ Ayudha Pooja which is celebrated on 9th day of Navratri along with Akkara Vadisal - a rich & creamy jaggery + rice pudding. (Click the highlighted portion for recipe or the image below ) .
Some of them follow a strict schedule of offering a sweet , mixed rice (chitranna) in the morning and sundal in the evening daily.This prasad is then shared with the guests and family who visit us for haldi kumkum.
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Soaking Time - 2 hrs
Preparation Time - 15 mins
Frying Time - 20 mins
Makes - 10 to 12 vadas
Complexity - medium
Ingredients
1 cup channa dhall /bengal gram /kadalai paruppu (150gms)
2 tbsp udad dhall /ulutham paruppu/ black gram
4 tbsp thoor dhall /split pigeon peas /thuvaram paruppu
4 to 5 dry red chillies
Fresh curry leaves
Small piece of ginger
Salt as needed
Asafoetida (skip for GF )
Oil for deep frying
Method
- Wash and soak all the three dhalls under running water and soak in clean water for 2 hrs along with the dry red chillies .
- After 2 hrs , drain the water from the soaked lentils and transfer it to a blender and grind it to a semi fine paste with curry leaves ,ginger and salt .
- Before grinding reserve a handful of soaked lentils aside to add to the ground batter later on.
- To the ground vada batter , now add some asafoetida and the reserved lentils and mix it well .
- Keep this batter in the refrigerator for 20 to 25 mins , this step helps in getting a good shape of the vadas and also consumes less oil while frying .
- Heat the oil in a deep wok/ kadai . Drop a small blob of batter into the hot oil, it must sizzle up immediately, then the oil is heated up perfectly.
- Now wet your palms lightly with water , take a scoop of ground batter and pat it like a pattice on your palm and carefully slide it into the hot oil .Don't pat it too thin.
- Drop 3 to 4 such patty/ vadas at a time and let it fry on medium flame until the sizzling of oil stops and they appear crisp and golden brown.
- Carefully drain it on an absorbent paper or a colander .
- Crispy paruppu vadas are ready .
Most Important Tips to keep in mind.
- Donot soak the dals for more than 2 hrs , it will soak up a lot of oil later on.
- Incase , you are unable to grind the soaked dhall for some reason , strain the soaked water completely and store the soaked lentils in the fridge . You can grind it later . Don't store for more than 24hrs , the dals will give out a foul smell .
- If you are using the soaked dals after refrigeration, wash them once thoroughly under running water and then take it up for grinding.
- Adding salt while grinding is very important because the water from the salt helps in grinding without adding excess water .
- If you feel the dals need a little water for grinding , then just sprinkle some water don't pour it .