Sepu Vadi

Before you start

• Soak the urad dal 5 hours. Drain it thoroughly - wet dal grinds into a batter that will not hold a shape.
• Grind the dal with as little water as possible, then beat it by hand for 4 to 5 minutes until a spoonful floats in a glass of water. This aeration is what makes the vadis light.
• Bring the yogurt to room temperature and whisk it with the besan so the gravy will not split.

Method

1. Grind the drained urad dal to a thick, coarse paste with the green chillies and grated ginger, using no more than 3 tbsp water.Coarse, not silky. Sepu vadi should have a little bite left in it.
2. Beat the paste vigorously for 4 to 5 minutes with salt until it lightens in colour and passes the float test.
3. Heat the frying oil to 170C. Drop in flat spoonfuls of the batter, four or five at a time, and fry 4 to 5 minutes until deep gold and firm. Drain on paper.Too hot and the outside browns while the inside stays raw batter. A dropped bit should rise steadily, not violently.
4. Cut each fried vadi in half through its thickness. This is what lets it drink up the gravy.
5. Boil the spinach in 200ml water for 4 minutes, then blend it to a smooth green puree with its liquid.
6. Heat the ghee in a kadhai, crackle the cumin, add the asafoetida and take the pan off the heat for a minute to cool.
7. On the lowest flame pour in the yogurt-besan mixture and stir continuously for 8 minutes until it thickens and stops smelling raw.One direction, no stopping, low heat. If it splits there is no fixing it.
8. Stir in the coriander powder, turmeric, kashmiri chilli, fennel and dry ginger, then the spinach puree and 200ml water. Season and simmer 8 minutes.
9. Slide in the halved vadis, cover and simmer very gently 10 minutes until they swell and turn spongy but still hold together.Stir as little as possible now - a soaked vadi falls apart if you push it around.
10. Finish with garam masala and coriander leaves and rest 5 minutes before serving with rice.

Storage

Best the day it is made, while the vadis still have some structure. Keeps 2 days refrigerated; reheat covered on the lowest flame with a little water, without stirring.