SpoonandtheNeedle: Nutritious and easy to cook Snack- Kothimvir Vada

Wishing a very happy new year to all my friends J I hope you had a great one!

Last 10-15 days have been like a big carnival with unlimited fun, frolic, craziness and most importantly FOOD J It is around this time of the year when everybody loves to lower their guards and just soak into the madness…As December sets in people all across the world start looking forward to the festivals, holidays and get together and the weather acts as a catalyst to all this .I have seen even the most fitness conscious people indulge in rich and grand meals, road side food, chocolates, cakes and what not without any guilt of consuming tons of calories … and if they are questioned they would happily blame the festive season ;)

But once the festivities are over, then what?? Our weight makes a new record, our skin cries for help and our stomach says no more muck .And then we start craving for simple home cooked food. Don’t we?? So here’s a recipe which is super tasty ,very light and nutritious too. This is a Maharashtrian delicacy known as Kothimvir vada which can be teamed with a hot cup of tea or coffee in your cosy little balcony. Be it a kitty party, picnic or a lazy afternoon ,this snack fits into all this and more.

Kothimvir means cilantro in Maharashtrian language. One of my favourite herb which is mostly used for dressing up meals. I call it the magical herb because it blends perfectly with most of the Indian dishes and instantly makes the food more appealing as well as adds in to the taste with its flavour. Not only Indian cuisine it is widely used for Chinese, Thai and Mexican dishes as well. The most interesting thing in this dish is here Cilantro is not used for dressing, in fact it is the king of the dish and without it the dish is incomplete.

So do enjoy this nutritious and low calorie snack and let me know how you like it.

Ingredients:
1)2 cups packed cilantro leaves, chopped fine
2)1 cup chickpea flour/besan
3)2 table spoon all-purpose flour
4)4 green chillies, minced fine
5)1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
6)2 tsp. lemon juice
7)1 tsp. turmeric
8)pinch of asafoetida
9)1/4 tsp. baking soda
101 tsp. sugar
11)salt to taste
12)Oil for frying

For Seasoning
1)Mustard seeds -1 table spoon
2)cumin seeds- 1 tea spoon
3)Slit green chilly- 4
3)oil

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl,t except for the oil.
2. Add a little bid water and make a dough.(the dough should not be too tight or too sticky) .Roll the dough and give it a shape of a hot dog
3. Grease a flat vessel. Put the dough onto it.

4) Make a double boiler or use an electric steamer. (If you do not know how to make a double boiler stand check my dhokla recipe for the instructions)
5) Steam for about 30 minutes till a skewer inserted in the middle comes clean.

6) Let it cool for some time and take it out in a plate. Cut it into your desired size.

7) Take a frying pan and put some oil into It.shallow fry the vadis till golden brown. (If you want you can deep fry them too but I prefer the shallow fried vadis more)

8)For Seasoning -take little oil. When its heated put the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering put the cumin seeds and slit green chillies. When they are done spread on the Vadis

9) Serve hot.

Note – you can keep some of the pieces in an air tight bag in deep freezer and it stays till a month.