VAZHATHANDU VADAAM

Vathal, vadaam, karuvadaam all refer to ready to fry crispy snacks which are made from rice, chavvari  (sago) etc. They come in different shapes and can be fried and used like "pappadam".

Vazhathandu vadaam is made from rice and banana stem. I know only one person who makes this vadaam with perfection. That is Bhagyam mami, my sister in law's mother. Every year she makes this in bulk and sends to her daughter. My darling SIL packs half of that for me when we return to Kuwait after vacation. I got the recipe from her and learned by trial and error method. ( the vadaams I make are semicircular in shape whereas the ones mami make have perfect elliptical shape)

INGREDIENTS
1. Raw rice - 1 cup
2. Banana stem (vazhappindi/ vazhathandu) - Thin stem 5" long ( 1 cup when cut)
3. Salt
4. Green chillis - 4
5. Asafoetida - 1/2 tea spoon
6. Water - 6 cups

METHOD

1. Soak the rice in water for 3-4 hours. Grind it well with water (1 cup), salt, green chillis and asafoetida. Keep it  overnight.

2. Cut the banana stem into thin circles simultaneously removing the thread with your index finger. Cut again into very small pieces and put into thin butter milk. (this is to prevent the pieces from turning brown) Wash 4-5 times and cook on a low flame for 5 minutes adding 1/4 cup of water. (in the original recipe the cooking part is omitted. )

3.Add 5 cups of water to the rice paste and stir well. Cook this on a low flame stirring continuously. The solution thickens and finally a shiny porridge like mass is obtained. At this stage add the raw or cooked vazhathandu and mix well.

4. On a clean piece of cloth drop the mix with a spoon or your hand. Dry this in the sun for 3 days. When the vadaam is almost dry sprinkle some water on the other side of the cloth and remove the vadaams from the cloth. Dry it again for 3-4 days. Store in a dry container.

5. Heat oil in a pan and fry the vadaam.