Rasam Vada/Crisp lentil dumplings in a spiced tomato soup

This has been in my drafts folder forever. Not sure why it never made it out the door, well at least not until now. Guess I was waiting for the right moment. Talking about the right moment, these crispy dumplings soaked in the spicy soup is just perfect while you wait in the comfort of your home for that first snow, not that it ever snows here in south Florida. This dish hails from southern India but has come to be popular in all parts of the country of course with the details varying on how its done every couple hundred miles. Here I present how I like to do them. Hubs is a big fan of this and when I pulled out this recipe from my drafts, I did get to hear a mouthful on how I haven't made these for him in a while. When you take a spoonful into your mouth, while you enjoy the crispiness from the dumplings, the spicy soup kicks in and makes it just a delightful mix of flavors on your palate. The recipe is not too tricky either. It uses simple ingredients including the Rasam powder that are easily available in any Indian grocery store. And yes, if you cannot get the  donut shape right, it is perfectly okay to just shape the dumplings as regular dough balls.

Ingredients:

For Vada
Split black gram skinless (urad daal)		1 cup
Green chilli		1-2 chopped
Ginger		1/2 inch grated
salt		to taste
Oil		1 tbsp + for deep frying
For Rasam
Toor dal/Arhar dal		2 tbsp
Rasam powder		2 tsp
Asafoetida		1/4 tsp
Tomatoes,roughly chopped		2 medium
Mustard seeds		1/2 tsp
Whole dry red chillies		2 broken
Curry leaves		7-8
Jaggery (gur)		1 tsp grated
Tamarind pulp		1-2 tsp
Cilantro		to garnish

Method:
1. Soak the lentil for 4-6 hours. Drain and grind to a thick batter using very little water
2. Add, green chillies, ginger and salt and whisk the batter well
3. Heat oil in a frying pan for deep frying. Dampen your hands, shape the batter into small balls with finger tips and drop into the oil. Deep fry till golden. Drain vadas on a paper towel.
4. For rasam cook the toor dal with one cup of water in a deep pan till it gets mushy. Add tomatoes and one cup of water and salt and let it cook till the tomatoes soften. Take off the heat, blend to a puree.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add asafoetida, mustard seeds, broken red chilli and curry leaves. Add the daal to the tempering and mix. Add rasam powder, tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt and mix well. Add coriander leaves and mix.
6. Simmer for two to three minutes. To serve place the vadas in serving platter, top with rasam and cilantro. Serve hot. Sit back and ENJOY!
Recipe source Sanjeev Kapoor

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