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| Kothambir Vadi |
Kothambir / Kothimbir is the Maharashtrian
name for fresh green leafs of Coriander. These leafs are my favorite due to the
fragrance and subtle tangy taste. These leafs are rich in Iron and impart very
good color and texture to the food, whether it by virtue of garnishing or using
it as a base in curries and snacks. I do not like to waste the soft stalks of
the fresh coriander leafs, thus whenever I separate leafs from stalk, the
stalks are used to make Green chutney or added to vegetables while making clear
vegetable soup. Yummy chutney and soups are made and except the roots nothing
goes waste. In Maharashtra coriander leafs are used along with Besan (Black gram flour) to make delicious snack. Traditionally these Vadis are made by steaming the batter, but I make them by baing the batter and pan frying in least amount of oil to get
low fat tasty yet very healthy and nutritious snack. It can be made both ways traditional steaming or Baking the batter. I prefer baking to steaming.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 40-50 small pieces
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree centigrade for 15-20 minutes
Nutritional Value (Approximate) of
the Vadis made From the said amount:
Calories: 980
Fats: 16.27 gm
Cholesterol: 0gm
Sodium: 160mg
Potassium: 2115mg
Carbs: 114.55gm
Fibers: 30gm
Protein: 60 gm
Sugars: 27.12gm
Vitamin A, Iron, Calcium
Ingredients Required For Making
Kothambir Vadi:
- 1 Big Bunch of Fresh Green
Coriander Leafs / Two tea cups cleaned and chopped leafs
- 250 gm. Besan (Gram flour) / two
tea cups
- 4-5 Green Chilies / to taste
- 8-10 Cloves of Garlic (Optional)
- 2-3 cm. Ginger piece
- 4 Teaspoon sesame seeds (2+2)
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking powder
- 1/2Teaspoon Cooking Soda
- 2 Teaspoon Any Cooking oil (I used
Olive oil)
- Salt to taste
Directions For making Kothambir
Vadi:
- Prepare a baking pan of 12”x12” by
brushing it with oil nicely and ten dusting with besan like we do for cakes,
difference is that maida/atta is replaced with besan.
- Remove the roots of coriander
sprigs and wash them thoroughly with flowing water to remove traces of soil.
- Separate leafs from stalk. Keep
the stalk to make chutney and drain water from leafs.
- Cut the drained leafs finely and
place them in a big bowl.
- Make fine paste of green chilies, peeled
garlic and ginger. If you are not using garlic then make paste of green chilies
and ginger.
- Mix
- Oil
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Cooking Soda
- Mix with a dry spoon and keep
aside.
- To chopped coriander leafs add
- Besan
- Paste of garlic + ginger + green
chilies
- Salt + baking powder + eating soda
+ oil mixture
- 2 Teaspoon Sesame seeds
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| All Ingredients to be Converted to Batter |
- Mix thoroughly with spoon.
- The mixture will not be too wet
but like dough.
- Add 50 ml. water and mix to make a
uniform mixture.
- Add another 20-30 ml water and
mix. By this time the batter should become of pourable consistency but not thin
and flowing.
- If you find the batter very thick,
then add little water and mix to make batter of proper consistency as shown in
the picture below. The amount of water may vary depending upon the water
retained by leafs after draining as well as the quality of besan used.
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| Correct Consistency of Batter |
- Immediately pour al the batter in
the baking pan and tap once or twice to remove any trapped air bubbles.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 o C for 30
minutes or till baked.
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| Batter Ready For Baking |
- To checked the doneness of Vadi
poke a dry skewer diagonally through the center. If it comes out clean then the
Vadi is baked, else bake for the time till the skewer comes out clean. The time
differs due to slight change in consistency of batter and make of oven.
- Take out the baking pan form the
oven. You will see that the top has some little cracks. That also is absolutely
ok.
- Cover the baking pan with a moist
cloth and allow the baked batter to cool.
- Remove the baked batter on the
cutting board and cut it to the pieces of the size and shape you choose to.
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| Baked Batter of Vadi |
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| Baked Batter of Vadi Cut to Pieces |
- Take a shallow pan and put 1/2 teaspoon oil in it. Heat till the oil is hot but not smoking.
- Place 10-15 pieces of Vadis and
let them become golden brown from one side. Flip and sprinkle 1/2teasoop oil on
the pan and cook till the other side is also become golden brown.
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| Kothambir vadi getting crisp and golden brown in pan |
- Repeat with all the Vadisd in the same manner to make them crisp and golden brown from top and soft from center using very little oil
- Heat
- 1/2teaspoon oil in a ladle
and to the hot oil add
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds, Let them
splutter.
- Spread this seasoning on the Vadis
- Remove from pan in a plate and
serve with Tangy-hot Green chutney made by using the stalks instead of leafs / tomato sauce/green
chili sauce / red chili sauce.
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| Kothambir Vadi |
Tips:
- Always pre-heat the oven.
- It is best that besan
and chopped coriander leafs be taken in 1:1 ratio. If you choose you can reduce
the coriander leafs amount. But I like when the Kothambir Vadis live up to
their name and have great green color, yummy coriander flavor and slight bitter
+ hot + garlicy, gingery flavor. After all it is all about Kothambir (Coriander
leafs).
- Add water in little amounts to get
correct consistency of batter. Adjust the amount of water for it may differ
than what I have mentioned in recipe. I do not use packaged besan, they are too
refined for my taste. I get chana dal ground to a bit coarse flour in flour
mill.
- Bake the batter immediately after
mixing water else the baking powder and eating soda will start losing its
effectiveness.
- Do not make the batter runny it
should be thick like cake batter. Not like pakodas (Fritters) batter.
Suggested Variations:
- I prefer not to experiment with
much spices here because the original flavor of coriander leafs has to be
maintained to the highest level.
- Traditionally these Vadis are made
by steaming the batter and the pieces are fried. I prefer low oil so pan frying
and baking is easier and hassle free. If you wish you can steam the batter and
fry the pieces.
- Instead of sesame seeds poppy
seeds can also be taken for garnishing. These seeds not only enhance the taste
but add much nutritional value also.
- Kadi patta (Curry leafs), some
pieces of red chili can be added to oil of seasoning along with the seeds.
