A savory cake made to enjoy with tea, these kothimbir vadi can be served any time of day.
Cilantro Cakes (Kothimbir Vadi)
Chef Surya Milner
4-6
25 minutes
15 minutes
Indian
Appetizers
This recipe calls for steaming the dough before frying it; you can use a dumpling steamer lined with parchment, a steamer tray in a larger lidded pan, also lined with parchment, or set up a plate in shallow, boiling water in a larger pan with a lid.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 cup besan (chickpea flour, also known as gram flour)
1 tsp ginger + 1 tsp garlic, mixed into a paste
½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric
- 1 green chili, finely chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp garam masala
Salt, to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup water, plus more as needed
Ghee, to fry
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, add chopped cilantro leaves, chickpea flour, ginger-garlic paste, chopped green chili, red chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, sesame seeds, salt and lemon juice. Mix well.
Begin to knead the mixture into a soft dough, adding water half a teaspoon at a time if needed.
Grease hands with ghee or oil, and shape the dough into a cylinder.
Steam the dough for 15-20 minutes.
Allow dough to cool before cutting them into thick slices.
Heat a pan on medium-high. Add ghee, frying slices on both sides until crisp and golden. Serve alone or with chai.