Keerai Vadai (with Urad Dal)- Indian Spinach Fritters
This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup heaped urad dal (white Ulundhu)
1/2 cup tightly packed keerai (amaranth leaves)
2 green chiles
1 onion
3 pinches asafoetida
salt as needed
Instructions:
Soak dal for 2-3 hours and grind to a thick and smooth batter along with green chiles. Use very less water while grinding.
Wash and separate the leaves from the stem of the keerai and chop it finely. Add the chopped greens, chopped onion, asafoetida, salt to the ground batter and mix well.
Heat enough oil to deep fry vadas and flatten a big lemon sized ball in a greased(with water) ziploc cover. You can use a piece of banana leaf too. Grease you hands well with water before taking the ball of batter. Again after flattening, grease you hands well in water, make hole in the centre and transfer the flattened vada to your greased hand and drop it to the hot oil. Refer this post to see how it can be done in hands itself.
Cook in medium flame both sides until golden brown in colour. Heat oil while you flatten the vada again and lower the flame while you cook. Repeat the process to finish the batter. You can cook upto 3-4 vadas at a time.
Enjoy the vadai + any spicy chutney with hot tea or coffee . Perfect for your kids too as an evening snack!
From rakskitchen.net