Javvarisi vadam recipe/ Sago vadam recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Javvarisi (Sago/Sabudana) - 1/2 kg

Water - 5 1/2-6 ltr

Green chillies - 3 or 4 medium size 

Salt - to taste

Lemon juice of 1 key lime - (optional)

Hing - 1 tsp.

This vadam is a crunchy and delicious treat for our taste buds. This is very easy to make. It can be served as a side dish in South Indian thali or can be had as a snack.

METHOD:

Clean javvarisi (sago)  without mud and stones, wash gently two or three times and drain the water completely. Now pour water an inch above sago, soak overnight. (Use maavu  javvarisi, do not use nylon javvarisi).

Next day morning, grind green chillies with little salt, hing and lemon juice, strain and keep ready. If you grind it very fine, you need not strain. Measure water and keep ready. 

The sago would have absorbed all the water by now. Rake the sabudana gently with fork or hand. Add half a litre of water and gently mix without lumps.

Heat a heavy bottomed vessel, add remaining water, when it boils add the sago mixture. When half done, add green chilli water. (If the paste is very fine, you can add directly without straining). Add salt and mix well. Usually, for vadam, use little less salt, as the vadam turns salty when dried in sun. (You can taste and see. You should feel the salt is little less). Cook until the sago turns translucent.  

When slightly cool, spread a cotton cloth or quality plastic sheet in mottai maadi (open terrace) and pour the mixture with a spoon to a round shape. Dry in the hot sun for two to three days until bone dry and store in an air-tight container. Deep fry in hot oil when required. Serve with South Indian meals as side dish or can be had as snack.

You can add tomato puree or pudina puree when half done and cook as said above for pudina javvarisi vadam and tomato javvarisi vadam. I made tricolour vadam like this for our Independence day. 

Version 1 of NOT soaking javvarisi and making vadaam is here.

NOTE: 

1. Its always better to use clean white cloth to spread vadam, to prevent health hazards. Alternatively you can use a good quality plastic sheet.

2. Its better to add little lemon juice. If you add more lemon juice, vadam will turn red while frying.

3. Add little green chillies, just for taste. If you add more, the spicy, pungent aroma(நெடி) of the chilli goes straight to the nose while eating and will cause irritation in nose. 

4. Use little less salt than usual, as the vadam turns salty when dried in sun. (You can taste and see. You should feel the salt is little less).

5. If using the cloth for drying, the vadam sticks to the cloth and it will be difficult to peel the vadam. How to take vadam from cloth? 

When the vadam is dry completely, turn the cloth upside down, sprinkle water on the backside of the cloth, now turn the cloth and within few minutes, it will be easy to peel the vadam. Transfer to a  big plate, and sun dry again for a day or until completely dry.

ELAI VADAM / ILAI VADAM

This is my Appa paati's (grandma's) elai vadam recipe. She is an expert in making it. Being in a joint family, she grinds patiently and steam cooks in hundreds without any frown. We love elai vadam and eat it fresh as soon as it is steamed and peeled. It is really hard for elders to dry them up and store for a year. The recipe is simple, but needs lot of patience. Some make it with boiled rice, some with raw rice and some use both. There is a spicy version too. But, as roasted elai vadam is good for postpartum food, my grandma does it without spice. Now, onto my grandma's special ratio elai vadam.

INGREDIENTS:

Boiled rice (Puzhungal arisi) - 2 cups
Raw rice (pacharisi) - 1/2 cup
Ajwain or cumin seeds - 2 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Cut banana leaves - few
Oil - to grease

Pic.Courtesy : My friend Kala

METHOD:

Soak both rice together for 4 to 5 hours. Grind to a very fine paste. Add salt and mix well. Allow it to ferment for one day. Next day grind the same batter again to soft and smooth paste. Add jeera / ajwain.

Dilute to thin dosa batter consistency. Grease the cut banana leaves with very little oil and keep ready. Take a greased cut banana leaf, pour a ladle of the batter and spread it thin and evenly to circles. Meanwhile, heat water in a kadai, place a plate with holes on it. Now, place the batter spread banana leaf on top of it, cover with a lid and steam cook . Once cooked the vadam will turn glossy. It cooks in less than a minute. My patti (grandma) used to give a tip about the cooking time. She says “Onnu ezhuthara neramthaan onnu veharathukku”. It means, the time we take to spread the batter in the leaf is the time taken to steam cook one.

Peel vadam gently from the leaf and eat them fresh. This can be had as an evening tiffin.

To store it, peel vadam gently from the leaf, arrange them in a clean while cloth and dry it in the shade. They dry faster as it is very thin and steamed. Stack well and store in an air-tight container. It can also be sun dried and fan dried.

HOW TO USE?

Roast the sun dried elai vadam on direct flame. This can be given as post-partum (after delivery) food.

Sun-dried elai vadam can be microwaved for 30/40 seconds in medium-high.

Sun dried elai vadam can be deep fried in oil.

Sun dried elai vadam can be served in Delhi appalam style too (the very big appalams which we get in exhibitions).

FOR THE DELHI APPALAM STYLE / EXHIBITION APPALAM STYLE:

Spread some bigger sized elai vadams while making, dry and store. Deep fry in oil. Sprinkle some chilli powder and serve.

NOTE:
Elai vadam stands are available at stores. If you are using a elai vadam stand, slightly grease the plate with oil, spread the batter and steam cook. Traditional idli pots and idli stands can also be used.

For the spicy version, add 2 or 3 green chillies/red chillies while grinding.

VARIATION:
1. Only raw rice can be used.
2. Only boiled rice can be used.
3. For the spicy version, add 2 or 3 green chillies/red chillies alongwith the above measurement while grinding. If adding chillies, the colour will not be as white as the plain.

MAAVATTAL / MANGAI VATRAL / SUN DRIED RAW MANGOES

This is a vathal or vatral made using raw mangoes, prepared, sundried and stored for a year. This vathal is used in making a traditional kozhambu and also an instant pickle is made using this.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw mangoes - 6
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Wash mangoes and cut them into slightly big pieces. Transfer them to a ceramic jar or glass jar. Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well. Shake well OR turn it upside down with a ladle daily for 3 days. Dry them in the hot sun for 2 to 3 days till they are bone dry. Store in containers. This can be stored for more than a year.

KOOZH VADAAM / KOOZH VATHAL - TWO VERSIONS

First of all, a big thanks to the readers, friends and visitors for your continuous support. My blog has crossed 7 lakh hits. Most of the recipes are traditional, and here comes an authentic recipe from my mom and grandma. Thanks amma and paatti.

I can remember our childhood days, when we assist the elders in spreading the vadaam on the terrace, driving away the crows and simultaneously eating the half dried vadaams which we call as "araikachal vadaam". The araikachal vadaam has a unique taste and most of the vadaam goes into our stomach half dried defeating the purpose of getting stored in the pantry for a year.

Many readers has been asking me to post koozh vadaam. Eventhough I have learnt to make koozh vadaam from my mom, she takes pain and makes for all of us for the whole year and packs it for us. She does it with great interest and says the pain is worth the gain. Coimbatoreans start making vadaam and vathals on the month of February as summer starts on February and wind start on March. As usual, this time also my mom has packed and gave me a full set of vadaams : Two types of koozh vathal, ela vadaam and kozhambu vadaam. I wanted to post the recipe with stepwise pictures. It is because of this reason, I am unable to post stepwise. All I did is to arrange them and take a snap of it.

However, the recipe is an authentic one from my mom and grandmother. I have typed as narrated by her.

Recipe courtesy: My amma.

You can try a lesser quantity with the corresponding proportions.

KOOZH VADAAM - TYPE 1.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour - 1kg.
Javvarisi (sago) - 200 gms. (Ask for flour variety. DO NOT use nylon javvarisi.)
Hing - 1 tsp.(level spoon)
Green chillies - 100 gm.
Crystal salt - a fistful
Lemon - 6 or 7 Big (approx. 3/4 cup juice)
Water - quantity is mentioned in the recipe.

GADGETS REQUIRED:
10 Ltr. Pressure cooker
Big lengthy ladle
A strainer
Murukku press with different type of holes.
A big, clean plastic sheet
A vessel of water (to wet your hands while pressing)

METHOD:

Grind green chillies, salt and hing to a fine paste with a cup of water. Strain and keep the juice ready.

Wash javvarisi and soak in water for 2 hrs. After 2 hrs. Crush the javvarisi with your hands.

Take water in the pressure cooker. NOTE: Water should be a little less than 3/4th of the cooker. When adding javvarisi alongwith soaked water and chilly, salt juice, the water level should be 3/4 th of the cooker.

Bring it to a boil. Now add the crushed javvarisi alongwith the soaked water to it and allow it to cook till transparent. Now add the green chilli, salt juice. When it starts boiling simmer the stove and add the rice flour little by little, preferably a cup at a time and stir continuosly without any lumps till it forms a sticky dough.

Keep this dough covered with the lid and when cool, add the lemon juice and mix well. This is the koozh maavu(sticky dough).

Transfer to a wide stainless steel vessel. (NOTE:This is important to avoid chemical changes), cover and leave it to cool overnight.

The next day, early in the morning, spread the plastic sheet on the terrace, keep weight on all sides, to prevent the sheet flying in the air.

Wet your hands, fill the mould (achu of your choice) with the koozh and press evenly on the plastic sheet.

Dry it in hot sun for 3 days, store in airtight containers. Vadaam is ready to be stored for a year. Deep fry in oil as and when required.

KOOZH VADAAM - TYPE 2
Raw rice - 1kg.
Javvarisi (sago) - 200 gms. (Ask for flour variety. DO NOT use nylon javvarisi.)
Hing - 1 tsp.(level spoon)
Green chillies - 100 gm.
Crystal salt - a fistful
Water - quantity is mentioned in the recipe. 

METHOD:

Soak rice in water for 4 hrs, and grind to a smooth paste. Add salt and allow it to ferment for 2 days. (LEMON IS NOT USED IN THIS TYPE AS WE ALLOW THE  BATTER TO FERMENT TILL SOUR)

On the third day,  add some water to it and make  a batter as of dosa batter.

Other procedures are same as Type 1 and here we are pouring the batter instead of  rice flour.

This TYPE 2 vadaam will not be as white as TYPE 1 vadaam.  It will be slightly red in colour when deep fried in oil.

NOTE:

The maavu will take longer time to cool. So, prepare it the previous day night.

If you press and spread when the  maavu is hot, the vadaam will become red while frying. So make sure the maavu is cool.

Start pressing the vadaams early in the morning avoiding hot sun. Hot sun is harmful for us and causes dehydration, tiredness and sunstroke. Hot sun is very good for the vadaam though.

JAVVARISI VADAM (SAGO VADAM)

INGREDIENTS:

• Sago(Javvarisi) - 1 cup
• Water - 7 cups
• Green chillies and salt paste - as per taste
• Buttermilk - 1 cup (optional)
• Oil- 2 tsp.

METHOD:

Earlier, elders at home make this way by not soaking Javvarisi. The quality of sago was also good. There were no nylon Javvarisi then. Nowadays, it is better to soak sago. Version 2 of soaking sago and making vadam is here.

Wash sago and keep aside.

Pour 7 glasses of water in a heavy bottomed vessel and boil it. Add 2 tsp. oil (this prevents the sago from sticking to each other), sago and chilli-salt paste (I used 2 chillies for a cup of sago). Let it boil until the sago becomes transparent. When slightly cool, add a small cup of  diluted buttermilk (The vadaam will be white in colour while frying). Mix well.

Prepare the mixture in night and spread the vadaam in the morning. The mixture will be watery but in the morning it will become thick. You can add more hot water and mix well if needed. Spread a plastic sheet in mottai maadi (open terrace) and pour the mixture with a spoon to a round shape. Dry in the hot sun for two to three days until dry and store in an air-tight container. Deep fry in oil when required.

KOZHAMBU VADAAM / KUZHAMBU VADAAM

The pains in making vadam is worth the gains. Though summer in other parts of the country starts after a month, Coimbatore will be hot by February. Generally during the month of February, Coimbatoreans start making vadaams and vathals, as there will be wind and dust on March. I too have started it.

The photo is sun dried vadaam. This is to be fried in oil and added to vatha kozhambu or kootu which gives a special flavour to the dish.

INGREDIENTS:
(My mom's way of making it)

Karamani (Cow peas) - 1/2 kg.
Red chillies - 15 Salt
Hing
Curry leaves - a handful

METHOD:

Brush the karamani with oil and sundry it. Pound it to half using a mixie . Discard the skin. Soak in water just for 10 minutes, drain completely, add red chillies, salt, hing and curry leaves and grind it to a thick coarse paste ( like aama vadai batter). Spread a plastic sheet on the terrace, pinch out small balls from of the batter, place it on the sheet and sundry for 4 or 5 days. Store it in an airtight container. How to use it? Scroll down to see the kootu. Click here for kootu & here for vadaakozhambhu.