Kothimbir vade
PREPARATION TIME 40 minutes COOKING TIME 30 minutes SERVES 8 INGREDIENTS
● 100g coriander leaves ● 85g chickpea flour ● 35g rice flour ● 3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing and shallowfrying ● 2 tbsp grated fresh or frozen coconut ● ½ tsp cumin seeds ● 1 tsp sesame seeds ● 1 green bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped ● ½ tsp ground turmeric ● ¼ tsp mild chilli powder ● salt, to taste
METHOD
1 Pat the coriander with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. You want it to be as dry as possible. Finely chop and place in a mixing bowl with the chickpea flour, rice flour and half of the oil.
2 Add the grated coconut, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, green chilli, turmeric and chilli powder, and season to taste. Mix well so that the coriander leaves are coated in the spices. Add about 3 tbsp of water, a little at a time, and knead the ingredients together to create a dough-like consistency. Add the remaining 1½ tbsp of oil and knead lightly, coating the dough with the oil.
3 Set up a steamer and oil the steaming bowl. Divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a cylinder shape no more than 5cm thick. Place in the oiled bowl, making sure there is enough room for the vade to expand as they steam.
4 Steam for 20–25 minutes over a medium heat. Leave to cool slightly. If you don’t have a steamer, stand the steaming bowl on a trivet in a large saucepan and fill the saucepan with boiling water to the level of the trivet. Cover and steam as above. Remove the vade from the steamer and cut into slices 2cm thick. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add enough oil for shallow-frying.
5 Once the oil is hot, fry the kothimbir vade in batches, cooking for 2–3 minutes on each side until they turn golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels, while you cook the remaining vade, adding more oil as necessary. Serve as part of a thali with some chutney.
FOOD FACT! This is a traditional recipe from the Maharashtrian community, made with chickpea flour, coriander and coconut.