Masala Mung Bean Vadai/ Green Gram Fritters

Today I am guest posting over at Nancy's blog, Spicie Foodie.  I met Nancy through our blogs and found out not only do we have a mutual love for all things spicy, but we share a birthday as well.  Nancy was also so kind to interview me for her Favorite Foodies Series.  If you are interested here is my interview.  Nancy is a fabulous photographer and her food pictures are simply amazing.  I always say she's a poet when it comes to taking pictures of food.   Nancy asked if I would do a guest post for her blog today and requested something Sri Lankan. So I thought I would share my latest vadai recipe.  This Mung Bean Vadai is the third variety of vadai my mother and I made together when we had a day of cooking a while back.  This Mung Bean Vadai was my mother's favorite from the three we made that day.  I even ate them right out of the fridge and I loved them too.  Mung bean also known as green gram is a small green legume that is cream colored on the inside. It is a hard bean so it does need to be soaked overnight before using it for this recipe. I made these extra spicy and they were almost addictive. Yes, I may have eaten six in a row. Don't judge me. :)  If you make them, you may understand why I enjoyed them so much.

Ingredients:
 2 cups of Mung Bean soaked overnight
1 medium size onion finely chopped
1 Tbs of dried red chili pieces (or to taste)
1 tsp of red chili powder (or to taste)
20-30 curry leaves torn into pieces
2-4 green chilies (Serranos) chopped finely
2-3 garlic cloves grated (optional)
1 inch of ginger grated (optional)
Salt (to taste)
1-2 Tbs of chickpea flour (besan) to help form the vadai.

Directions:

The first step to making your Mung Bean Vadai is to soak your the beans.  You will want to soak them overnight.   Then drain the Mung bean well and put it in a food processor and grind/pulse until you have a semi-course  paste. You want some of it well pulverized yet some pieces still intact so you can see the mung bean.


Mix the pulverized mung bean with all the other ingredients.  You want the mixture to hold together like a meatball so add chickpea flour a tablespoon at a time to get that texture. Taste for salt and seasoning.   Now form a flat patty or oblong shape.

I placed them on a microwave safe plate because the next step is to pre-cook them in the microwave.  **I got this tip from another recipe and it works great.  You will microwave about a dozen vadai for about 1-2 minutes (depending on your microwave).  They will become firmer to the touch (but not hard).  This also cuts down on the frying time.  Heat canola oil on med-high heat and when hot start frying vadai a few at a time until fully cooked.  I cooked them for about 2 minutes in the hot oil.  You don't want your oil too hot so not to burn the vadai.  Test out the first batch and adjust the heat of the oil accordingly.  Drain on a paper towel and continue frying.  Eat hot or at room temperature.  This recipe should make about 30-40 vadai. Enjoy. 

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