Ash Gourd Vadis/ Budida Gummadikaya Pachchi Vadiyalu
Budida Gummadikaya vadiyalu or Ash Gourd Vadis are an Andhra delicacy. Vadiyalu are one of the many methods of preservation used by Indians. The essential element for the process is heat and bright sunlight. Since this criterion is met in most parts of the Indian subcontinent for at least 8 out of 12 months this is a fairly common recipe.
Vadiyalu are generally used as an accompaniment to the main dishes in a meal or as evening snack item- depending on the variety. Sabudana vadiyalu are an example of the latter while Ash gourd vadiyalu are a classic example of the first category.
This recipe is for Pachchi vadiyalu. Pachchi literally means "Raw". Being situated on the NE coast we have enough sunlight but not heat to make proper vadiyalu. So last time my MIL suggested we skip the drying part of the process and fry Pachchi Vadiyalu. That was the first time I had heard about this possibility. So we prepare the batter and omit the last step of drying in hot sunlight for 2-3 days. Instead fry the batter the same day and enjoy with hot ghee rice!!
Ash gourd/ Budida gummadikaya - grated or finely dices, 4 cups
Urad dal - 1 cup
Green chillies - 2 (may be modified to taste)
Jeera - 1 tsp
Salt - 4 tsp (may be modified to taste)
Oil - for deep frying
Method:
1) Apply 2 to 3 tsps of salt to the diced ash gourd. The best way is to use both hands and thoroughly rub the salt into the pieces. The purpose of salting the gourd is to remove as much of the moisture content from the vegetable as possible.
2) Transfer the salted gourd into a cheese cloth. Tie into a knapsack and hang from a hook/ nail. Place a vessel under it to catch the drained water. In case you do not have the facility to hang the bundle - put the firmly tied bundle in a standing colander. Place this on top of a vessel to catch the drained liquid from the gourd. Place a heavy weight (like a molcajete set) on top of the bundle to make sure all the liquid is forced out.
3) The above step takes 8-12 hours to complete (simplest would be to do this overnight). At the end of this duration, squeeze the bundle well to extract the last possible liquid/moisture content from the gourd.
4) Soak the urad dal for 3-4 hrs.
5) Wash and grind the Urad dal in a mixer-grinder. Use as little water as possible. The paste should not be coarse. It should turn out soft and fluffy, like medu vada/garela batter.
6) Grind the green chillies and jeera to a coarse paste (one turn of the mixie is fine)
7) Mix the ash gourd, urad batter and chilli-jeera paste in a bowl. Add salt to taste and mix thoroughly.
8) Heat peanut oil in a kadai. When the oil is sufficiently hot, drop the batter in and fry till golden brown. If not familiar with making fritters with hand, you may use a table spoon measure to scoop the batter and gently drop it in the oil.
9) Drain on paper towels. Serve with hot rice and ghee or as an accompaniment to pulusu.
Notes - Below notes are based on the observations/ mistakes I made the first time around. These are added here so the reader can avoid the same:
1) Do not mix all the Urad batter into the gourd at one go. First add 1/2 cup batter and mix. The batter is a binding agent- use just enough to coat and hold the grated/diced gourd together. If needed u can add more batter sparingly so as not to overwhelm the gourd's taste.
2) Grated gourd will release the moisture more efficiently than diced pieces
3) Add salt to the Gourd-Urad batter just before frying otherwise batter will turn runny/ liquidy and will not have right texture
