Healthy Non-Fried Batata Vada
Adapted from recipe by Vandana Tiwari.
For the Potato Filling
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized potatoes
- 2 tsp hulled spilt black gram (urad dal)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
- 10 – 12 curry leaves
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp finely minced ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder
- ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
- 2 – 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
- Unrefined salt to taste
Method
Steam the potatoes (with the peel on) until thoroughly cooked. Mash them well. There should be no lumps.
Heat a pan. Add urad dal and sauté until fragrant and brown. Add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start crackling, turn the heat off and add the curry leaves, chopped ginger, chopped green chilli, asafoetida and turmeric and dry roast for a few seconds. Add this to the mashed potatoes. Add salt and coriander leaves. Mix together.
Make equal, medium-sized balls of the potato mixture that will fit into an appam pan, if you are using that. Keep aside.
For the Batter
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Bengal gram flour (besan)
- ½ tsp turmeric (haldi) powder
- ⅛ tsp red chilli powder
- 1 cup water
- Unrefined salt to taste
Method
Mix all the ingredients together to obtain a slightly thick batter. Thin batter will not work.
Making the Batata Vadas
Dip each potato patty or ball in the besan batter and coat evenly. Place in a hot appam pan. Turn over, once one side is cooked and cook again. You may also bake in an air fryer at 160 °C for 10 minutes on one side and then for a further 5 minutes on the other side, after turning over. Serve hot.
Serve with coriander-mint chutney and date-tamarind chutney.
Serves 4 – 5