Crispy ambode recipe without onion

 Varamahalakshmi vratham  recipes - Ambode for naivedyam

Ambode ( amaivadai in Tamil) in an important recipe for Ugadi festival. The following pics show the steps in making this traditional dish for this festival.  

 Soak gram dhall and red chillies in water for 45 minutes.   Drain the water, grind it coarsely as shown in the second photo. Add salt to taste while grinding.

 Then add asafoetida, finely chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves. I have used grated coconut.  It is optional. 

Make a medium sized ball, flatten it with your palm and fry to get the ambode shown in the third photo. 

 On auspicious days and festivals some do not add onion.   (If onion is added it becomes masal vadai ! and we don't add onion or garlic for festivals) 

This is one of the important recipes along with poli for festivals.

Preparation of the recipe through pictures 

                                

1) If we add grated coconut to the batter and stir well before frying, the result - ambode is crisp outside and soft inside

2) Small pieces fried in oil can be used in mor kuzhambu.  It is a simple recipe without green chillies and coconut.  Take curd, churn it without adding water.

  Add the mini ambodes to the curd. Then, sauté with mustard seeds, jeera, very little fenugreek, asafoetida, turmeric powder and curry leaves. 

Turmeric powder is added after other ingredients are cooked. Add the sautéed ingredients to the curd. No heating is required.   The result is a quick and easy mor kuzhambu called ponnicha kadhi.  

This recipe is made for festivals for which we make pitla (Varalakshmi Vratham and Ugadi).  Since pitla is a "heavy" dish, this recipe is made as an extra dish because it can be made in small quantities.  You guessed it right; it is a Tanjore Maharashtrian dish.