Karuvadaam or Karuvadagam or Kuzhambu Vadaam is a popular recipe from Tamil Nadu which is nothing but sun-dried fryums prepared with urad dal and black-eyed peas (traditionally red black-eyed peas or as we say kaaramani in Tamil is used. But I went with what I had in my pantry – white ones)
Fried Karuvadagams are used as rice accompaniment but they go very well in Vathal Kuzhambu. Karuvadaam Vathal Kuzhambu and Sutta Appalam (roasted papad) is an awesome combination. (Karuvadaam Vathal Kuzhambu recipe coming tomorrow)
Last summer I tried two vadagams recipes one was the pazhaiya sadam vadagams (leftover rice fryums) and the other was the Sabudana or Javvarisi vadagams. Amma was here and was guiding me through the vadagams process and we prepared a lot and still, I have little stock in my pantry. During that time I asked her to write other vadagams recipes also and here is the Karuvadagam recipe.
As I mentioned in the introduction, red black-eyed peas are used for this recipe but I went with the white black-eyed peas. Adding white pumpkin enhances the flavor and it can be skipped as well.
Ingredients:
- Urad Dal – 1 cup
- Black Eyed Peas – 1/4 cup
- Red chilies – 5
- Salt – 2.5 tsps (as required)
- Hing – 2 tsps
- Chopped White Pumpkin – 1/4 cup
- Water for soaking + 3~4 tbsps of water + water for spreading the batter.
Other Equipment:
- Big plastic sheet or a silicone mat.
Steps:
Preparing the Batter:
- Soak the urad dal, black-eyed peas, and red chilies for at least 4 hrs.
- Mix the hing in 3 tbsps of water and add this hing water while grinding.
- Then grind them along with white pumpkin by adding 3 to 4 tbsps of hing water.
- Now add salt and mix well. The vadagam/vadaam mix is ready.
Drying the Vadagam-
- Meanwhile, in a sunny area (backyard or balcony or terrace) place the clean plastic sheet or a silicone mat.
- Keep the water and bowl of water ready. Wet your palm and take a pinch of the batter and start placing them in the plate or cover with 1-inch space between each piece. Irregular shapes are perfectly fine.
- Let it dry under the sun for the whole day and bring the sheet with the vadagams inside in the evening. The next day flips the vadagam slowly and dry them again.
- During peak summer it gets dried up within two days if not maximum of 3 days. (For me in as the weather was sporadic it took up to 5 days)
- Once they are dried up store them in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes:
- Red black eyes peas (Kaaramani) are traditionally used.
- White pumpkin is optional. If you are not using that, adjust the water accordingly. As ash gourd oozes out water, I just went with 3 to 4 tbsps of water.
- While grinding, drizzle the water and do not add too much of water.
- Adjust the salt and red chilies according to your taste preference.
- Make sure it is dried completely before storing it in an airtight container.
Karuvadagam | Karuvadaam | Kuzhambu Vadagam
Equipment
- Big plastic sheet or silicone mat.
Ingredients
Other Equipments
Instructions
Preparing the Batter
- Soak the urad dal, black-eyed peas and red chillies for at least 4 hrs.
- Mix the hing in 3 tbsps of water and add this hing water while grinding.
- Then grind them along with white pumpkin by adding 3 to 4 tbsps of hing water.
- Now add salt and mix well. The vadaam mix is ready.
Sun Drying
- Meanwhile in a sunny area (backyard or balcony or terrace) place the clean plastic sheet or silicone mat.
- Keep the water and bowl of water ready. Wet your palm and take a pinch of the batter and start placing them in the plate or cover with 1 inch space between each piece. Irregular shapes are perfect fine.
- Let it sundry for the whole day and bring the sheet with the vadagams inside in the evening. The next day flip it slowly and dry them again.
- During peak summer it gets dried up within two days if not maximum 3 days. (For me in as the weather was sporadic it took up to 5 days)
- Once they are dried up store them in airtight container.
Notes
- Red black-eyes peas (Kaaramani) are traditionally used.
- White pumpkin is optional. If you are not using that, adjust the water accordingly. As ash gourd oozes out water, I just went with 3 to 4 tbsps of water.
- While grinding, drizzle the water and do not add too much of water.
- Adjust the salt and red chilies according to your taste preference.
- Make sure it is dried completely before storing it in an airtight container.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Submitting this for the July Week 1 – Cooking from Cookbook Challenge (CCC Challenge).
