Samayal.com

[Hemant]

My first taste of Medhu Pakoda was in 1962 when I returned to Madras from my village in Gujarat. Just round the corner from my house, fourth building had two hotels.One was Udipi hotel (Now owners own Swagath Hotel Royapettah) and adjucent to it was a non vegetarian hotel.Medhu pakoda was consumed in the evening with Kapee (coffee).A plate of Medhu pakoda (four nos) and a cofee cost 4 annas. I still remember the taste of pakodas and dosais served there. I got this recipe from Agra sweets Bangalore.

INGREDIENTS

Rice flour 100 gms
Kadalai Maavu 150 gms
Chilli powder 1 spoon
Green Chillies 4 to 5 nos.
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Black pepper 1/2 spoon.
Jeera 1/2 spoon
Omam 2 pinches
Cashew nuts 10 nos
Ghee /oil 4 to 5 spoons
Soda Bi-Carb Quarter spoon
Chilli powder 3/4 spoon to 1 spoon
Salt to taste
Oil (groundnut) 250 ml
Water for dough a little


METHOD OF PREPARATION

Mix rice and Bengal Gram flour along with salt, chilli powder, Jeera, Omam and coarsely pounded Black pepper. Add finelly shredded curry leaves and thinly sliced green chillies in round rings. Make a fine mix . Now take a wide mouth cup and make a mixture of Soda Bi Carb and Ghee/oil . agitate with spoon or fingers to make a milky frothy paste . Add this soda and ghee/ oil mix to the just mixed flour and once again mix thoroughly so that soda and ghee are mixed uniformly. Heat oil for frying in a kadai, till the oil gets hot, make five or six portions of dry flour mix and take individual portion and add just a little water so that it will bind the dough and No more.If you add more water, the dough will turn into batter.So be careful when you add water.Make small urundais of a large marble size.Insert small pieces (halves) of Cashew nuts in each pakoda urundai. dough will turn into batter. Fry the pakodas till golden brown to slightly darker brown shade.

Some people add chopped onion to Medhu pakodas also.
If you want , you may add onion too.Regular Medhu pakodas you get in Hotels donot have Omam in it.Instead it has Onion.So if you are using Omam, avoid Onions.

Keep a paper in a vessel and drop the fried Pakodas in it.

Serve HOT.