Kunukku - A Tamil Nadu speciality

This is a delicious and tempting dish . I learnt this from my mother-in-law who was a wonderful cook. This is one of her speciality. Dedicating this recipe to her.

Ingredients:

Rice : 1 cup

Toor Dal / Sambar Dal : 3/4 cup

Chenna Dal : 3/4 cup

Black Urad Dal (Whole or split) - 1 cup

Red chillies - 4 to 5

Green chillies - 3 to 4

Asafoetida

Onions

Curry leaves

Cilantro / Dania
Oil for deep frying

Soak rice, toor dal, chenna dal for an hour. Grind the black urad dal dry in a mixer and keep it aside. Grind the soaked dal coarsely with green chillies, red chillies, asafoetida and salt. Mix the dry urad dal in the last churn so as to mix well with the rest. Add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and cilantro to the batter.

Take small portions and deep fry in the oil in medium heat.  The smaller the portion put in the oil, the crispier it is.  Black urad dal brings out the flavour and the crispiness. 

Extra inputs:

Very little water to be added while grinding.
If the batter is a little watery, add besan (Chenna dal powder) to thicken the consistency.
Batter can be stored in the fridge and used as and when needed.
Tastes well when the batter is fermented.
Finally, although this is a deep fry item, a perfect competitor to Pakodas and Bajjias !!!!!!!!

'I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation'- Madame Benoit