Kothambir Vade

This maharastrian snack which is so very famous and mouth wateringly delicious can be called a herbal dish as it incorporates a lot of cilantro-the herbal leaf!

Herbal I call it because cilantro has lot of health benefits apart from acting as carminative to relieve stomach flatulence,also supposed to relieve anxiety and insomnia.
coriander is a very good source of dietary fiber and a good source of iron, magnesium and manganese and also proven to reduce cholesterol and blood sugar.
And the bonus is it tastes oh so fragrantly delicious...


(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
2 cups packed cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped fine
1 cup chickpea flour/besan
1 tbsp. rice flour
1/4 cup mixed flours (ragi or millet flour/ atta or wheat flour/ any other you have on hand,adding these flours is purely to make wadis more healthy,so if you don't have them,don't use,just increase besan qty)
4 green chillies, minced fine
1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. turmeric
pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, except for the oil.
2. Add enough water to make a thick batter and stir well to remove all lumps.
3. Grease a flat vessel. Pour the batter into the vessel.
4. Steam for about 30 minutes till a skewer inserted in the middle comes clean.
5. Let cool, unmold and cut into slices.
6. Heat 1/4 inch oil in a skillet and deep fry the slices till crispy and golden.


Steaming can be done before hand when you are free and later when you want to serve it for your guests or as evening snack,you can just deep fry in oil or even shallow fry on a tawa with tsp oil.

If you own a pressure cooker, it was be used without the "weight" to steam this vadi. Also u can use a steamer and if you don't have neither of them, use  a pot of boiling water with a steel sieve fitted into it and the vessel placed on the sieve and covered.
The steamed vadi is perfectly fine for eating on its own ,a very tasty and healthy snack indeed. Of course it tastes even better when fried and crispy!! Alternatively, if you would like something in between like for a dhokla, make a "tadka" of oil, mustard and cumin seeds and pour over slices of steamed vadi.