Instant Sooji Vada (in 15 minutes or less)

Sounds too good to be true - right? But that’s all it takes, and the vadais taste great. They even taste good when they are cold.

Navrathri went by in a blur this year. I had a few families for dinner on Friday, and had my big party on Saturday. I saved Sunday to visit a few other golus. But since a few people could not make it on Friday or Saturday, they came home on Monday. I had school the whole day, and a dear friend had called a few of us to her place on Monday as well. So I rushed back home, quickly prepped for my guests, changed, went to my friend's place, and rushed back to receive my guests. I made Sooji Kuzhi Paniyaram, along with mudi masala, dhokla, peanut chaat, and ras malai.

As usual I had overestimated my quantities and had some leftover sooji batter, after making the kuzhi paniyarams. I put this in the fridge along with all the other leftovers from my big party and forgot about it for a few days.

Then as my husband and I were slowly making our way through all the food in the fridge, I came upon this batter and decided to try something new. I added rice flour, grated carrots, and some ginger to it and made vadas. They were perfect! Because I had added rice flour, the dough was thick and really easy to shape into vadas. And the best part, they tasted great even when they were cold!

Last night, my husband was meeting a few of his buddies to discuss an upcoming trip and needed to take something for a potluck. Since it has been a long week, with two days of parent teacher conferences running till 8:00 p.m, I wanted to make something that was quick and easy. I decided to make these for him to take.

I am impressed with how good they taste and how simple they are to make.

Try these for your Deepavali or Thanksgiving party. I’m sure they will be a hit.

Instant Sooji Vada (in 15 minutes or less) Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes Makes about 24 - 28 vadas Here is what you need 1 cup MTR Rava Idli Mix ½ - ¾ cup yogurt 3 - 4 tbsp. Rice flour 1 onion, chopped fine 3 - 4 green chilies minced 1 cup spinach leaves, chopped fine (or other vegetables of your choice - like carrots or cabbage) ½” ginger, minced few curry leaves few coriander leaves, chopped a pinch of salt oil for deep frying Here is how I made it: Heat oil in a deep bottomed kadai or pan While the oil is heating, mix all the ingredients, except the oil for deep frying, so that the mixture forms a dough that you can shape into balls. If the batter is too moist, add more rice flour. If it is too dry, sprinkle some water. Keep a bowl of water and a sandwich size ziploc bag ready. Wet your hand and the ziploc bag. Take some batter (about the size of a big lime) in you hand and put it on the Ziploc bag.  Shape it like a donut with a hole in the middle. Drop this gently into the hot oil. You can fry a few vadas at a time. Turn the vadas over gently a couple of times till they turn golden brown all over. Place the vadas in a colander lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat till all the batter is done. Serve with chutney of your choice