Today, I present Aviri Vadiyalu; an instant sun-dried papad made with small steamed rice flour “dosas” (for the want of a better word). I call these “instant vadiyalu” because they are ready in 1 day and do not need many many days of sun-drying like other vadiyalu.
Aviri Vadiyalu
Vadiyalu has no equivalent word in English. These are essentially small sun-dried “parcels” made with some kind of flour/starch and sometimes, contain vegetables. They are sun-dried till all moisture is removed and the stored. Vadiyalu are fried just before they are eaten. 🙂
Summers always meant making a lot of Uragayalu (Pickles), Appadalu (Papads), and Vadiyalu (Wadi/Vadagam). My maternal grandmother’s home used to bustle with activity with my mom, her sisters, her sister-in-law, and her mother making a variety of summer goodies. The job of the grandchildren was to shoo away the birds that would want to feast on stuff laid out to sun-dry, but otherwise stay out of the way. 😀 😀
It is a tradition that I carry out even today albeit on a much smaller scale and it is also a more lonely affair now. 🙁 May be I should restart these activities with my cousins.
Typically vadiyalu need 3-4 days to dry completely (even in blazing sun). However, Aviri Vadiyalu dry in just a day because they have been steamed to remove moisture content. As a result, you can make these on any sunny day. Also, I would encourage newbies to sundrying to try this because it means instant success.
Do try my recipes for Pela Vadiyalu, Atukula Vadiyalu, Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu, and Saggubiyyam Vadiyalu.
Sun-dried Aviri Vadiyam
How to Make Aviri Vadiyalu from Andhra Pradesh
Aviri Vadiyalu from Andhra Pradesh
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Rice, Biyyam (~300 gms)
- 6 Spicy Green Chillies, Pachi Mirapakayalu
- 2 tsp Cumin Seeds, Jeelakarra
- 2 tbsp Grated Ginger
- Salt to Taste
- Water, as Needed
- Oil for Greasing
Instructions
- Wash and soak the rice in 2 cups of water for about 4 hours.
- Drain the water and grind to a smooth, runny batter (dosa batter consistency).
- Grind the green chillies, ginger, and cumin together to a coarse paste.
- Add the spice paste and salt to the rice flour batter and mix well.
- Take a vessel capable of holding 1.5 litres of water.
- Pour 1 litre of water into it and bring to a boil.
- Take a plate that fits like a lid onto the vessel.
- Grease it with a few drops of oil.
- Place the plate on the vessel with the boiling water.
- Pour a small amount of batter and make a small circle about 3" in diameter.
- Cover with another plate and steam for 1 minute. You know the vadiyam is cooked when it becomes translucent.
- Using a sharp knife, loosen the edges of the Aviri Vadiyam and gently remove it and place it on a plate or a plastic sheet.
- Grease the plate again and repeat the process of making the Aviri Vadiyalu.
- When all vadiyalu are steamed, sun-dry them for 1 day (At least 6 hours) in bright sunshine. They will lose all moisture and become crisp.
- Store in an air-tight container.
- Deep-fry the vadiyalu just before serving. Tastes fabulous with Pappu Annam, Sambar Sadam, or even when bits of it are mixed with plain rice topped with sesame oil.
Andhra Aviri Vadiyam
Recipe with Step-by-Step Method for Making Aviri Vadiyalu from Andhra Pradesh
- Making the Batter
- Wash the rice under running water and then soak it in 2 to 3 cups of water for about 4 hours.
- Drain all the water.
- Using a little less than 1/2 cup water grind the rice to a smooth, runny batter (slightly thinner than dosa batter consistency).
- Ideally you should pound the green chillies, ginger, and cumin together to a coarse paste. I just pulsed them in the chutney grinder for a few seconds. The cumin seeds should just break apart a bit but not become powder or tiny bits.
- Add the ground green chilli-cumin-ginger paste and some salt to the batter.
- Mix well. Add some water, if needed, to get pouring consistency. Remember to add just a little less salt than required because the vadiyalu will become saltier on drying.
- Wash the rice under running water and then soak it in 2 to 3 cups of water for about 4 hours.
- Steaming the Aviri Vadiyalu
- Take a vessel capable of holding 1.5 litres of water. Ideally this should be a pot or some such narrow-mouthed vessel; I did not have one so I used a regular vessel.
- Add 1 litre of water to the vessel and bring the water to boil. The water should be boiling throughout the process.
- Take a plate that fits like a lid onto the vessel and lightly grease it with a few drops of oil.
- Place the plate on the vessel with the boiling water.
- Pour about 2 tbsp of batter onto the lid and shape it into a small disc about 3″ in diameter.
- Cover the Aviri Vadiyam with another plate and steam for 45 seconds. Lift the covering plate and check. The vadiyam is cooked when it becomes translucent.
- Remove the cover and the plate containing the Aviri Vadiyam from the vessel with the boiling water.
- Using a sharp knife, loosen the edges of the cooked vadiyam and gently peel it off the plate.
- Place the cooked Aviri Vadiyam on a plate or a plastic sheet.
- Grease the plate again and repeat the process to make the rest of the Aviri Vadiyalu.
- Sun-Drying the Aviri Vadiyalu
- When all vadiyalu are steamed, spread them on cotton cloth or a plastic in a sunny area. I use the terrace of my apartment complex.
- Sun-dry the vadiyalu for 1 day (at least 6 hours) in bright sunshine. They will lose all moisture and become crisp. If your drying them in a windy area ensure that you cover the vadiyalu with a very thin cloth (crepe/georgette dupatta) or plastic sheet as they are very light and tend to fly after drying. In such a case, you may need a couple of more hours in the sun.
- Store in an air-tight container.
- When all vadiyalu are steamed, spread them on cotton cloth or a plastic in a sunny area. I use the terrace of my apartment complex.
- Using the Aviri Vadiyalu
- Deep-fry the vadiyalu just before serving. Tastes fabulous with Pappu Pulusu Annam, Charu Annam, Sambar Sadam. In Andhra, we even crush vadiyalu a bit and mixed them into plain rice topped with sesame oil. Then we eat morsels of this rice with some pickle on the side.
Aviri Vadiyalu
🙂 Those summer days. Aaah, I miss them so much. You know, when we grew older, we were given bigger tasks, like making those appadalu, vadiyalu and were even paid incentives. 10 rupees per 50 appadams as such. 🙂 Loved those days when they used to make batches of these for everyone, amma, pinni, atha, one day at a time and one home a day. And even with all that, aaviri vadiyalu were never made in bulk. They always remained as something that my ammamma would make once a month or so. I never even knew of the process. 🙂 Maybe, one day, I will come back and try making some. I always wonder how many of our recipes are lost with the passing away of each generation. But I guess, this is one way, we preserve our food heritage. 🙂
The first responsibility I was given (as the oldest grandchild) was to keep the other grandchildren away from the drying appadalu, vadiyalu, and uragayalu. 🙂 Next came bring this or that (especially oil and kharam made me feel important). Then actually given the task of making something.
I so agree that the communal effort of making for everyone was so rewarding and time of great fun.
Yes, ever so often, I remember something Ammamma or Amma used to make and then set about recreating that dish or tradition at home. Many of my cousins think I am an old fuddy-duddy to hold on to these (especially since I grew up and live in Mumbai), but for me they represent the treasure of my family’s heritage.
We ventured out from preventing the birds from messing with the dried goods and then to drying them in batches and then to making them. We used to buy our daily ice cream quota with this money. 🙂 It was so much fun.
I remember making many things with my Jejamma at my home. Whenever i’m reminded of her, I feel bad that I did not write down any of her recipes. So what people call you an old soul, I think what you are doing is amazing. I get this feeling whenever I see recipes made at home online. 🙂 Keep up the good work.
My favorite ??
Aruna, thanks so much for the post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Omg, wish i get enough sunny days to make this Aviri vadiyalu at home. You have made them prefectly. Seriously i want to make some soon.
I hope you do too 🙂
I miss all these here..I love this to the core..if I had this with any rice, I’m a happy person…Lovely share dear
Your post reminds me those scorching summers I spent in India while growing up, wish I can make these here 🙂