Friday, December 17, 2010

Vengaya vadagam/ Tempering Agent and an award

"Vengaya Vadagam" is a mixture of onion,garlic,fresh spices mixed together ,dried and stored for years of use.Its a tempering agent ,which enhances the flavour of the curry.We used to temper these vadagams for sambhar,spinach currys,fish curries and so on.

In olden days ,farmers will make it in large amount,during their harvest time of onions.The stringent drying process,will make the vadagams bugs free and last for almost 2 yrs.since ,these requires abundant sun light,it is usually prepared during "Indian Summer "season ,from April - May.
My mom and Mil are experts in these.They used to prepare ,well in advance and strictly follow the drying rules.One of the other reason is,onions go cheaper during these summer days.So my mom used to buy it in lots and prepare these vadagams.Its a lengthy process,but worth trying it.

Swathi of  Zesty South Indian Kitchen,requested to post ,vadagam recipe.Thanks to her ,bcoz of her only,I documented it and it will be useful for me also.So I am posting my mom's version of vadagam.




Ingredients:
Onion                  -        2    kg
Garlic                  -        250 gm
Cumin  seeds        -        100 gm
Mustard  seeds     -         100 gm
Methi seeds         -         100 gm
Urad dal              -         100 gm
Hing                     -        1/2 tsp
Salt                      -        very little
Turmeric pwdr    -        1 tsp
Castar oil             -        250 ml.

Method:
* Grind onion and garlic into a coarse paste ,not to soft.They shud be like chunks.
* Mix all the ingredients together.
* Take a wide container or plastic bucket and dump in the ingredients tightly and leave it to sit for 3 days.
* On the third day ,divide them into equal sizes .Grease ur palm and roll them tightly into small balls.
* Place vadagam in the sun.
* Take the vadagam inside in the evening.
* Again in the morning, grease ur palm and tightly roll the vadagam and dry it in the sun.
* Repeat the process of tightly rolling again and again for 1 week.
* This helps the vadagan to come to a rigid shape.
* We have to dry these vadagams for almost 40 days.This hard drying in the sun ,makes the vadagam lose its moisture,which in turn increases its life span.
* Store it in a clean,air tight container.
* When we prepare tadka for dal or any curry,just temper a small amt of vadagam .Ur curry will be heavenly with the aroma of vadagam.

Note:
Handle vadagams carefully.They shud not be touched with wet hands.

shanavi of Kitchen Secrets has passed this award to me.....


I am passing this award to
Suja Suganathan of Kitchen Corner Try it
Akila of  Learning to Cook
Priya Mitharwal of  Maharo Rajasthan's Recipes
Padhu Of Padhu's Kitchen




18 comments:

Binys Recipes said...

I have heard abt this from frens...they bring it wen coming bk from holidays.....wow...loads of effort but makes quick recipes i believe.
Biny

Shanavi said...

vaasanai mooka tholaikudhu de...

Unknown said...

A very new and interesting dish dear. Never heard anything like this. I guess, it probably cools you down in summer, for it to be eaten during summer days.

Priya Suresh said...

I cant make kuzhambu without this vadagam..beautiful post..i never tried them making, as u said my mom and mil are experts in making these..every year they will bring them here, so i dont have any need to make them yet..

Unknown said...

Priya Mitharwal,
these vadagams can be used in cooking, any time,not only summer.Preparations are made during summer.
Priya ,same here ,I have parcels from india.Never tried one.
Biny ,vadagam are used for tempering of dals,sambhars,spinach varieties,fish curries ,....

Shanavi said...

Please collect ur award from my blog de

Soumya said...

wow...never knew about this tempering before...very nice idea..loved it...will give a try in hot summer days here...when the weather touches 90...bookmarked...thanks Savitha...

Unknown said...

wow, thanks dear for sharing this award with me, lovely, love you :)

Akila said...

Thanks a lot for the lovely award dear....

Swathi said...

Savitha,

Thanks for posting the recipe. I will try it during summer months.

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

wow..My MIL used to prepare n give this for me..it greatly enhances the flavor n taste , while added to fish kuzhambu, kara kuzhambu and veg sambar..
Congrats on your well deserved award dear..so swwwwweeet of you to share with me..:)
Tasty appetite

Padhu Sankar said...

I have never tried this .Looks yummy .Congrats on receiving the stylish blogger award and thanks a lot for passing on to me

Swathi said...

Congrats on your awards, wishing you many more to come. Thanks for sharing the award with me. I will be posting it in my award blog

Subhie Arun said...

wow..neva knew about this before....v nice...will gv a try in summer..frst time..here..will keep visitng!

http://subhieskitchen.blogspot.com/

Kavita Srivastava said...

Thats a very new tempering ... I will give it a shot
Thanks for the award ... Anayata and Mumma both are very happy with the treat

Suja Manoj said...

That's a wonderful idea..new to me,congrats on your award and thanks so much for sharing with me..hugs:)

Soumya said...

Hi Savitha,Congrats and thanks a lot for remembering me and sharing this wonderful award with me...sooo sweet of you

Unknown said...

Looks so tempting!!!! do visit http://www.farinsfunflavour.com/

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