Rajasthani Paush Bada|Vada| Posh Bada

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Rajasthani Paush Bada/Vada or Posh Bada is a vada or fried fritters made using mixed lentils and spinach green. It is one of the famous Badas from Jaipur the Pink City in Rajasthan. This Badas are generally made during the months of December and January. One can even call them as Mix Dal Vada.

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What is Paush Bada and the Paush Bada Utsav..

Paush Bada Utsav is the festival celebrated during the month of Paush in Jaipur City. Paush is a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. It corresponds to December/January month of the Georgian calendar. Bada means pakode or vada, the fried snack originating from the Indian subcontinent. 

When is Paush Bada made?

Rajasthan is the land of kings and queens, and there have been a tradition of celebrating this Paush Bada Utsav since ages. People use to gather at local temples, sing bhajans and offer Paush Bade as prasad.

This Paush Badas are also made on Sankranti which is a popular kite flying festival celebrated across India. People stay on the roof of their houses or on terrace and enjoy flying kite along with lots and lots of food. People celebrate by eating different types of pakodas and bhajias like Moong Dal Pakoda, Dudhi Kofta (Bottle Gourd Fritters) , Onion Bhajia etc.

This week on FoodieMonday we are celebrating Makar Sankranti /Lohri /Pongal /Bihu. Yes the name differs according to regions in India, but all hold the same significance. That is, celebrating the harvest festival. I have already detailed more about this in my earlier post on Til Gul Ladoo without Jaggery Syrup. So this week the #229 theme for FoodieMonday is Sankranti Specials.

Sankranti Recipes

While I already have a few Sankranti recipes on my blog such as Gul Poli | Tilgul Poli | Jaggery and Sesame seeds stuffed Indian flatbread , Til Gud and Sunflower Seeds Papdi, Til Gul Ladoo without Jaggery Syrup and even khichdi recipe as Yellow Moong Dal Khichdi , I wanted to make something savoury. Well it was a bit tough. While all my search was landing me to sweet recipes. I did get a few savoury recipes too, but I could not source the ingredients. I then decided to post Makke ki Roti as it is common during Lohri and winter months. But then the search led me to this Paush Bada Utsav.

After checking a few recipes I decided to use this recipe as base , if I could source the moth beans, for which I was positive enough. I love the recipe for the fact that it contains 3 types of lentils and also some spinach.

Yes it is fried. I thought to make the appe version etc, but then I decided to indulge and made the fried ones. I am happy that I made it. The Bada’s turned out super delicious and crunchy. They were bursting with flavours and we could not simply resist them. They are best eaten when they are hot with some hot Garlic chutney and Imli chutney or simple Green Coriander chutney.

Recipe of Rajasthani Paush Bada

This Bada’s are made using a mix of Green Moong Dal, Whole Moth ki Dal and Lobia/Chawali (Black-eyed Pea). The dals are soaked for a few hours or overnight and grounded to a coarse paste. The spices are coarsely grounded and added to the dal mixture. Spinach is then mixed along with the dal and a few more spices. This are then deep fried and served with chutneys of your choice.

So here goes the recipe for Rajasthani Paush Bada/Vada or Posh Bada

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Split Green Moong Dal/Yellow Moong Dal
• 1/2 Cup Whole Moth ki Dal/Moth Bean/Turkish Gram/Dew Bean (one can use split too)
• ¼ Cup Lobia/Chawali/Black-eyed Pea
• 2-3 green chillies finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger
• 2 Cups Spinach/Palak chopped
• Red Chilli Powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of Baking Soda (**See Notes)
• Oil for Deep frying

To roughly grind in mortar or pestle

• 2 teaspoon Coriander Seeds /Akha Dhania 
• 2 teaspoon Peppercorns/Kali Mirch
• 1.5 teaspoon Cumin seeds/Jeera
• 5-6 Cloves/Long
• 2.5 teaspoon of Fennel Seeds/Saunf

Preparation

• Wash and Soak the Green Moong Dal, Moth ki Dal and Lobia for 5-6 hours or overnight.
• When ready, drain the water and give the dal’s again a nice rinse.
• Drain the water and grind it along with ginger to a coarse paste.  Do not add any extra water, add only a teaspoon at a time if required at all.
• Crush the spices i.e. Coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, Cloves and Fennel Seeds coarsely using Mortar and pestle or using a rolling pin. 
• Add this spices in the dal mix. 
• Add in the red chilli powder, green chillies and salt and mix it nicely for a minute or so.
• Now add in the chopped Spinach and baking soda and mix again.
• Heat oil in a deep pan or a wok.
• Test the oil by dropping a small portion of the mixture. It should come up immediately.
• Once the oil is hot, Take a spoon full of mixture in your hand and slide it into the hot oil using your fingers and sliding it with the help of your thumb.
• Deep fry this on medium stove. Frying on medium is essential or else it will not be cooked in the center.
• Fry until golden brown on all sides turning in between. 
• Remove it on absorbent paper.
• Serve it hot with chutney of your choice.

Notes

• 1 teaspoon = 5 ml, 1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 Cup=235 ml
• Do not add water while grinding the dal. If needed, just add a teaspoon at a time.
• If at all the batter does not hold while frying add some gram flour.
• The dals can be sourced from Asian shops if staying outside India.
• For Gluten Free Version, make sure you use Gluten Free Baking Soda

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