The recipe for Pela Vadiyalu is very very close to my heart. My mom was an expert at making this and I have been successful at making them as well. These light-as-air sundried, deep-fried delicacies are a great favourite with my extended family as well. So I decided to make multiple batches of Pela Vadiyalu so that I could share them with my aunts, cousins, and brother. 🙂
I make vadiyalu with a range of ingredients; Saggubiyyam (Sago) Vadiyalu, Biyyam Pindi (Rice Flour), Atukula Vadiyalu, Budida Gummidikaya Vadiyalu (Ash Gourd), Aviri Vadiyalu, and more…
Today I am presenting Pela Vadiyalu which are made with Popped Rice (called Pelalu in Telugu, Aralu in Kannada, Laya in Hindi, and Pori in Tamil).
It is quite easy to make these Vadiyalu; the only effort is essentially in drying them. Fortunately for me I have help in that department so I am blessed. The reason I like Pela Vadiyalu (and its cousin Atukula Vadiyalu) is that it is very light and airy. Also, the taste is quite different from the other Vadiyalu.
Describing what Vadiyalu are in English can be quite a challenge but I shall give it a shot. Known as Vadam/Vadagam in Tamil, Sandige in Kannada, Kurdayi in Marathi) are essentially sundried crisps. They are typically shaped into small discs or like noodles and then sun-dried till there is no trace of any dampness. We store them in air-tight containers and fry them just before eating.
I know I am not making too much sense. Perhaps, if you read this recipe you will understand what I mean.
How to Make Pela Vadiyalu or Aralu Sandige
Pela Vadiyalu - Andhra Special Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 Gms Pelalu, Laya, Pori, or Aralu
- 1/4 Cup Saggubiyyam, Sabudana, or Sagu
- 30 Gms Green Chillies
- 1 tbsp Vamu, Ajwain, or Carom Seeds
- 1 tbsp Salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Soak the saggubiyyam in 1.5 cups water for about 2 hours.
- Over medium heat, boil the saggubiyam in the water in which it was soaked till you get a translucent and thick mix. Stir constantly. The consistency should be such that the mix slides of the spoon.
- Add the ajwain to it and mix well.
- Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Put the 1/2 the pelalu into a large vessel.
- Add 1.5 cups water and mix well. The pelalu will start to absorb water and disintegrate a bit.
- Add the rest of the pelalu and another cup of water.
- Mix well and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, chop the green chilli to very small pieces.
- Add the green chilli pieces and salt to the soaked pelalu.
- Mix well.
- Add the cooked saggubiyyam to the pelalu.
- Mix well.
- Spread a thick plastic sheet in the sun.
- Make about 1.5" balls of the Pelalu mix.
- Place on the sheet and press gently to form 1/2" thick disc.
- Make the rest of the Pela Vadiyalu.
- Sun-dry till completely dry. The vadiyalu are done when you break them and the insides are dry as well.
- Store in an air-tight container.
- In a kadai or large ladle, heat enough oil till medium hot.
- Add the Vadiyalu and fry till they puff up and are a very light brown.
- Enjoy with Sambar Rice.
I am taking this crunchy treat to the party at Fiesta Friday #113 hosted by Sonal @ simplyvegetarian777 and Laurie @ ten.times.tea.
After frying the Vadiyalu which you generously shared with me, here’s my VADIct There are Vadiyalu and then some!!! What a delightful burst of flavours in the mouth ~ popping, crunchy, spicy, featherlight, crispy, tasty! You don’t know what you’ve been missing until you’ve had one and then there’s no looking back! THE best I’ve ever tasted. Thank you for sharing such a prized recipe so generously!
Thank you, Anu. That is such generous praise. 🙂 🙂
Just for that you get a larger next batch.
Beautiful recipe Aruna! Thanks for sharing :). Is it like papad or wadi?
Wadi, Sonal.
Ah
Sun dried Vadagam with pori is something very new to me ,Aruna…They look so crispy and perfect for summer….
Thank you, Swapna. 🙂 I love them and hope you do too.
Very nice recipie. Thanks
Awesome share Aruna 🙂
Thank u v much. I vl make this vadiyalu soom
Posting Atukula Vadiyalu tomorrow and others soon!
I look forward to your feedback on Pela Vadiyalu!
The vadiyalu look so yummy .. wish we had the facility to dry them .. I like home made ones but can’t prepare due to the lack of space for drying.
These crunchy munchy beauties are so tempting, we Indians sure know how to use the summer sun to get the best out of it, loved the recipe thanks for sharing.
I love pelala vadiyalu – so yummy with puppu or pulusu. Never made them at home though. I have to look for Pelalu in Indian store. May be I can try making them this summer.
This is really such a beautiful recipe. Can we eat it like this only or using in curries. Lovely share Aruna
I would love to get a box of this vadiyalu from you anytime. Making this sort vadiyalu at home is definitely an art. Have to wait for summer to make this fantastic summer special.
Learning so much about Andhra Cuisine from your blog Aruna. We make noodle shaped tried rice sev… rice flour and sabudana mixed. Interesting recipe using puffed rice.
These little fritters sound so delicious and tasty. I am amazed that you have made these from scratch. Its so wonderful to know that you are making use of your mums teaching.
We used to prepare with rice but using pori is new to me.. Vadiyalu looks yummy and crunchy.. Especially the pic with chilli pieces shown up is so tempting and looks spicy. Being a spicy food lover, loved your share ! Will try sometime.
I love this and miss making it here… making this with Poori is totally new to me but can have unlimited
Of course this sounds totally alien to me but the fritters looks really yum. ?
This is truly a labour of love! Making them from scratch sounds fascinating. But I’m sure once they are dried and stored, it would be quite handy to fry them instantly whenever required.
I used to make something similar only with sago back in India. Here we don’t get to see sun so I totally miss making these. Looks delicious.
I do make fritters with aralu, but never tried this way, with sago. Do need to try sometime. Thanks for sharing.
Some recipes esp when they are your Mom’s speciality certainly holds a great value to you. This is such a cumbersome task and then the drying process etc. No wonder people dont have the patience these days to make all this. Our mothers, thankfully raised us well and hence we still make this no matter what, even though they are in small batches. These are such lovely recipes from your part of the world which I really loved reading about, also the explanation of Vadiyalu was perfect! Its more or less like our Vadagams in Tamil Nadu.
Wow! Looks delicious. It is so tedious making this applam.
Perfect summer recipe.. which can be stored for a long to use it on a hurry day.. Remembers my grandma and aunt’s will prepare this for summer.. and preparing with puffed rice very interesting..
I like homemade Sandige. My mom makes different types of sandige in India. This sounds so good.
I love them too. 2 more on my agenda this summer.
This is really such a beautiful and lovely share Aruna 🙂
Will surely gonna try this dear
Healthy and delicious snack , this is totally new to me . Will try it sometime
Very interesting recipe… I have never seen us having any sundried delicacies, but a lot towards the other states… thank you for bringing it out… 🙂
This looks so much more easier than the elaborate ones my mom makes..