Sundaikkai Masaal Vadai Recipe

Name: SUNDAKKAI MASALA VADAI
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: Chana dal or Kadalai paruppu - 1 cup; Raw Sundakkai - 1/2 cup; Sambar onions - 1/2 cup (finely chopped); Green chillies - 2; Dry red chillies - 2; Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp; Garlic - 6; Curry leaves - 1 sprig; Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup; Salt - to taste; Oil - for deep frying

March 17, 2021

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Sundaikkai Masaal Vadai recipe with stepwise pictures. These delicious vegan and gluten free fritters are made using chana dal and sundakkai also known as turkey berry in English.

These are so crisp and crunchy on the outside but soft and supple on the inside. They make a very good side dish to go with sambar or rasam rice and they also make a great evening tiffin or snack when served with coconut or mint chutney.

This sundakkai vadai is a very traditional Chettinad recipe and my Grandma used to make it often for our evening snack when ever we visited her during the school holidays.

She had so many sundakkai plants in her garden that we always had an abundance of produce during the season time.

Most of the produce will go for making sundakkai vathal to be sun dried for longer storage to last us through out the year.

You can make Vathal Kulambu using those sun dried berries or simply deep fry them and eat it as a side dish with curd rice.

The rest will be used up in making sambar, poricha kulambu and most often into this vadai.

Benefits of Sundakkai:

Sundakkai by nature is a bit bitter tasting which makes it good for our body. It helps in regulating the secretion of bile and helps to balance “Pitha Dosha”.

Our Favorite Video:

It works as a great deworming ingredient especially for Children. Continuously adding sundakkai in any form in our diet helps to keep our stomach clean.

It is also a great home remedy to treat mouth and stomach ulcers.

What is the best way to use Raw (pachai) Sundakkai?

The seeds present in the sundakkai makes them bitter which might also make your dish taste bitter. So when using raw, it is always better to smash them lightly with a stone pestle just to pop it open.

Then proceed by washing them in plenty of water while squishing them with your fingers to get rid of most of the seeds. You can use these berries now in any dish of your choice.

Note: Once sundakkai is smashed, it tends to become dark in color, so always keep them immersed in water to prevent discoloration.

What is special about this sundaikkai vadai?

Unlike getting rid of the seeds which are actually good for us, that step is skipped. If you are worried that would make the vadai bitter, then chill.

The vadai is not going to taste bitter which is special about this recipe.

Sundaikkai Vadai stepwise tutorial:

Soak chana dal for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

2. Grind the whole spices together to a coarse paste

3. Grind chana dal to a coarse paste & transfer to a bowl.

4. Grind sundakkai to a paste & add to the same bowl.

5. Add rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well

6. Shape them into vadai using your palm.

7. Deep fry to golden brown & crisp

8. Sundaikkai vadai is ready.

Can I avoid deep frying?

Yes, instead of deep frying you can air fry them in an Air Fryer or bake them in your regular oven @180 deg for 20-25 mins till they are done.

You can grill them for few mins after they are baked to get a crispy and crunchy outer layer.

Check out these other Chettinad Recipes,

Chettinad Tomato Soup

Palakkai Kurma

Mushroom Masala

Vazhakkai Kurma

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