This vadagam / Vadium is a basic thalimpu ( tadka ) food item used in certain recipe preparations like dals , chutneys, rasams etc. It is one of the favourite items in South Indian cuisine especially Tamil Nadu and it’s surrounding Andhra districts. Once it is prepared it can stay fresh upto a year like any sun dried crispies even with out keeping in fridge.
Ingredients
Onions preferably white variety – 2 and 1/2 k.g.
Garlic cloves – 250 Gms,
Mustard seeds – 100 Gms,
Split Urad dal with out skin – 150 Gms,
Methi seeds – 25 Gms,
Jeera – 25 Gms,
Hing – 1 Tablesp,
Salt – 250 Gms,
Oil to Grease hands for preparing Vadium balls.
Method
1).Discard the outer thin layer
of onions and sliced them fine.Keep them under sun till evening to make them soft.
2).Clean and remove the outer husk of garlic cloves. Grind them with half the quantity of methi seeds into a course paste. Keep it aside.
3).Gently crush the onion pieces with hand and mix with garlic paste.
4).In the evening add the remaining ingredients to onion garlic mix . Mix well with hands. Keep the entire mixture in a clean bowl with lid.
5).Next day morning make lime sized balls out of the mixture with oiled hands and keep them under sun. ( any cooking oil will do. But ground nut oil or castor oil us preferred ).
6).Next day again press the balls tightly with oiled hands .
7).Keep them under sun continuously for 10 to 12 days until they become hard and dry.
8).This vadagam is very flavourful and used during preparation of tadka for rasam/ dal preparations/ chutneys etc ( especially ground nut chutney ).
Tip:
A).Do not forget to keep vadagam under sun now and then for few hrs to keep them last long almost for an year. If they are well dried they do not become rancid also.
B).Take care not to introduce moisture during any stage in preparation of vadagam.