Multi Lentil Fritter or " Thavala Vadai"

Fritters are among the most favourite dishes of Tamil Nadu. The major ingredients are dals or lentils, chillies (both raw and dried), asafoetida and salt. The dough made out of these ingredients are then fried in oil. Any fried food is favourite teatime snack for us, the people of Tamil Nadu.

The Multi Lentil Fritter (or " Thavala Vadai", thavala vada as it is called locally) is a traditional snack variety whose roots can be traced back to the Tanjore District of Tamil Nadu.

The past is always fascinating. Though we are destined to live in the present, nobody can rob us the right of reliving the past albeit by rewinding our thoughts to the good old days.

The dish we ate as a child, the dish taht was served by our mom....they are evergreen in our minds.

The Multi Lentil Fritter is one among them.

Every tiny piece of food we eat has its own history. We don't have time or patience to hear.

The Multi Lentil Fritter also has its own tale to tell. The fried vada had its humble origin in the grain basin of Tamil Nadu....Tanjore. The Fritter got its name from the utensil that was used to make it. 'Thavalai' or 'thavala' as it is called colloquially, is a pot like vessel made of bronze. It was used to cook a multi lentil dish called 'thavala adai'. Lateron  the Wok has replaced the bronze pot and the fritter was renamed 'thavala vada'.

'Thavala dosa' is also prepared with similar ingredients as that of 'thavala vada'.

Inspite of being the forerunner in the 'vada' family of snacks, thavala vada is an endangered species now. Due to its complicated process of making , thavala vada has been removed from the list of everyday cooking menu. One can find it on  the menu of small hotels that were established atleast seven decades ago. They too dish it out once in a week and only for two hours in the evenings.

The classical music festival held in the month of December -January (Tamil month of Margazhi) at Chennai is an opportune time to savour the forgotton foods. Some eateries attached to the classical music auditorium serve thavala vada once or twice during this festival season. West Mmbalam Ganambiga Caterer is the best place to relish thavala vada.

Rajan of Gnanambiga caterers

Shri. Rajan, who owns  Gnanambiga prepared this Multi Lentil Fritter a few days ago and gave a demonstaration on how to prepare this special food exclusively for the food blogs-cooknrelish and thalaivazhaivirundhu. Rajan can be contacted at 98400 32684 or madhanrajan7@gmail.com.

My sincere thanks to Shri. A.S.Sundaram (Sundarramg-Doordarshan) & Shri.Murali (All India Radio) for their support in my blogging venture.

INGREDIENTS

(For preparing 15 fritters)

Split Pigeon Pea (Alternative names-Toor dal, thuvaram paruppu) - 200 grams

Split Chickpea (Alternative names-chana dal, bengal gram) - 100 grams

Split black gram  - 50 grams

Split Green Gram (Moong dal) - 50 grams

Raw Rice - 50 grams

Dried Chillies - 10

Grated Coconut - 1/2 Coconut should be grated.

Asafoetida powder - 1/4th of a spoon (flatware)

Cumin seeeds - 1 spoon

Salt - as per the requirement of your tastebuds.

HOW TO PREPARE THE MULTI LENTIL FRITTER (thavala vada)?

Soak the lentils, chillies and raw rice in water (the ingredients should be immersed in water) for 45 minutes. Drain the water completely and grind the ingredients coarsely. Add grated coconut, asafoetida powder and salt and mix well.

Pour considerable quantum of oil of your choice in a wok and heat the oil. Wait till the oil gets warm. Don't wait till the oil reaches its smoke point.

Take a fistful of the ground batter (roughly the size of a big lemon) and make it flat as shown in the pictures.

Fry the falttened batter in the warm oil till the color changes to golden brown.

Now the multi lentil fritter is ready for serving.

Bite a warm and crunchy multi lentil fritter (thavala vada). Let the taste buds takeover.

thavala vada

TIPS TO MAKE IT TASTIER

Mix 2 spoonfuls of coconut oil with the batter for a nice aroma.
Frying should be done using a low flame throughout the frying process.
It is better to flatten the batter on the back of  the round bottom of the spatula and immerse the spatula alongwith the batter into the oil slowly. After a few seconds you can remove the spatula gently. This will prevent the batter from breaking. 

Multi lentil fritter - have a bite...

Nice thavala vadas-have your pick