Alasande vade | Vegan Black eyed beans fritters | Lobia Pakora

How often do you all shop for vegetables, milk, bread etc? I say once a day!! I am crazy about stuffing my pantry with all the things (not) needed. I want my fridge spilling out vegetables & fruits & my cupboards filled with all flours & lentils. Same is the case with my wardrobe too.., Okay, that is a story for another day..

I always buy a big pack of black eyed beans & hardly use it. I add it with sambar, once a bluemoon make this pulao & this pasta. This is one bean that takes a backseat. It is only used during SOS. Now that we are shifting to a new home, I had to clear my pantry & hence soaked a large amount of this beans. I got beautiful sprouts too. But, didnot know what to cook. Hence, googled the recipes for black eyed beans & settled down on this vade from Shubha.

Vade was absolutely delicious, I wonder why did I not try it earlier! It is crunchy on outside & soft on the inside. It has a very distinct taste. I thought of taking step-by-step pictures & then posting it, but could not resist sharing it immediately. I tried making patties using sprouted black eyed beans & used it instead of cheese/paneer or veg patty for burger. Will post that recipe sometime.

Ingredients (For around 18 vadas/fritters)
Sprouted black eyed beans: 1 cup (Original recipe did not ask for sprouted beans)
Ginger: 1 inch
Onion: 1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Rice flour: 1 tbsp (My addition to the original)
Salt: According to taste
Green chillies: 3 nos
Cilantro/Coriander leaves: 3 tbsp (finely chopped)
Oil: For deep frying

Method:

• Wash the sprouts & drain the water(No need to pat them dry).
• Very coarsely grind the sprouted beans, along with ginger and green chillies (just pulse it for 5-15secs). (Do not add water, the moisture in the beans is good enough)
• Scoop out the coarse paste. Add finely chopped onions, chopped coriander leaves, cumin seeds, rice flour, salt to the paste & mix them well (Paste will be something similar to the cutlet batter). 
• Make medium lemon sized balls. Pat each ball into 1cm thick patties.
• Heat oil in a broad kadai/pan. When oil is hot, reduce the heat. Drop the patties carefully in the oil & cook on a low heat(This is very important!!, else it will be cooked from inside) on both sides till the vadas turn golden brown. 
• Serve it hot/warm with a dip of your choice.

Notes:

1. Instead of sprouted beans, soaked or canned beans could be used to. Be cautious while adding salt as canned beans might contain salt.  
2. It is very important to deep fry the vada/fritters on low heat to ensure proper cooking of the patties.
3. Do not add water while making a coarse paste.