Biri Bora / Biri Bada / Lentil Fritters

Ok ... after that hard hitting post am back to normal. Those of you who have stuck by Kichu Khon for some time now would know that am not into tough talking much ... but one can take only so much. Hence that post came to be.
Back to routine.

It rained all last night. I sat up a long while ... listening to the rain and to some of my favorite ghazals ... chatting up a good friend ... with the sniffles and a little fever it feels good to have a friend talk to. She makes the right noises of sympathy ... felt good. :-)

The day is very cloudy. Fog. Light rain. Cold breeze. Boring afternoon.
A whole bunch of work pending. The weekend looming. Don't feel like doing anything. Step out into the balcony.

Far on the hills it is raining. Can see a light drizzle there ... slowly making its way here.

Two kingfishers, caught up with chasing each other on high speed ... fly into a building ... realising at the last moment .... give out a long screech of surprise and alarm ... and dive away.

Down in the narrow lane a young boy cycling in rounds ... very slowly.
Round and round and round.
Quiet afternoon.
Light spray of rain.
Boy still engrossed in cycling ... round and round and round.
I watch.

Mr. Shalik flies in ... swoops down on my railing. Sees me standing.
Glowers.
Waits. He has to go up to his nest to check on the babies ... who have start chirping loudly as soon as they sense his presence.

I do not move.
Boy still going round and round and round.
Disgusted ... Mr. Shalik leaves.

Boy tires.
Leans against a wall ... with bicycle ... deep in thought.

Mrs. Shalik comes. A huge insect struggling in her mouth.
Screeches at me through closed beak. Nah ... these birds have no manners.

I step away. No point in depriving the kiddos from food.

Come over and start to think of writing a post. Hmm ... nothing interesting to write.
Let me move on to my recipe.

These deep fried pakodas / vadas are made from the Urad dal. Only, they are much smaller and irregular in shape than the usual Medu Vadas / Urad dal vadas.

This is the way they are made in Orissa. Come evening, the street sides would fill with hand pushed temporary stalls selling all kinds of hot deep fried delicacies ... among which will be the Biri Bora ( Urad dal vada / Biuli Daler Bora ).

This is one of the many street foods that we never miss on our trips home ... almost every evening standing on the streets in the evening breeze ... not having the patience to wait till it cools ... biting into a piping hot bora ... and then opening the mouth with "oooh" "haaah" ... to cool it. :-)
Bliss.

I love the small pieces of fried onions and green chilies that come with every bite.

Fuss free ... not too many ingredients ... quick to make ... great to snack on.
Especially on rainy evenings.

Need :

Urad dal - soaked overnight and ground into a paste
Thinly sliced onions
Chopped green chillies
Chopped coconut pieces ( optional ... if you have it or like it, then use )
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry ( preferably mustard oil )


How to :

Mix everything well ... except the oil.

Heat oil in a deep kadahi.

Gently let in small balls of the dal paste.

Deep fry till golden brown.

Serve hot.

These vadas are great to munch on as is ... but you can have them with any chutney or sauce of your choice. And a hot cup of tea.

And oh ... if you have any left overs ... which I very much doubt you will ... do try mashing them up roughly with some chopped onions, green chillies, salt and a little mustard oil ... and have it cold ... with very hot rice or curd rice.
Too good!


Have a great weekend all !