Ambode (अम्बोडे)

Ambode (अम्बोडे) is a popular snack of Karnataka and my husband's favourite. This recipe is derived from my mother-in-law's (or should it be mother's-in-law??). I like adding cilantro (धनीया) and ginger (अदरक) wherever possible, they add a very nice flavor. I'm sure when my Ma reads this, she'll be smiling to herself because in my childhood I used to totally dislike them. Actually, I figured the importance of these two ingredients from two of my friends.


Quantity: Approx 10-15
What you'll need:

1/4 cup chana dal
1/8 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp grated ginger
1-1.5 tbsp chopped green chillies
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

1. Soak the chana dal overnight in sufficient water.
   
2. Grind the dal with as minimum water as possible. The final texture should be coarse, there maybe a few whole grains left. The more you churn the batter, the more fluffy the vada will be which we don't want.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the batter and mix well.
4. Heat oil in a fry pan (for deep frying the vadas). Initially keep it at high flame so that the oil gets heated quickly, once the oil is hot reduce the flame to med-high.
5. Take a heaped tbsp of batter in your paln, pat it a little to form a small disc and drop it in the oil. Fry them well so that the dal inside gets cooked properly. Each vada may take around 3-4 minutes. While frying turn over the vada when one side is done to let the other side cook. Remove when they're slightly dark brown.

Notes:

• Batter should not be fine-grained, it should be coarse.
• Don't worry if you'd to add a little extra water to grind, squeeze the extra water before dropping the vada into the oil.
• Fry the vadas patiently on a medium-high flame. If cooked on a high flame, they will become brown from outside but will not cook inside. If you're cooking a lot of vadas and you think the oil has cooled down a little, then increase the heat to high for sometime till the oil regains it's temperature.