Kappa kizhangu vadai, kappa vada, tapioca vada

kappa-vada

Kappa vada recipe with easy procedure and simplest ingredients. Using small onion in the kappa kizhangu vadai adds flavour. Full video recipe.

Everyone loves tapioca in my mom in law family. Tapioca is known in various names in tamil. Kuchi kilangu (kizhangu), kappa kizhangu, maravalli kizhangu. They have it boiled with salt as such. How much ever we make, it will be emptied in no time. I am neither a fan, not a hater. Whenever we get to see good quality kappa kizhangu, we buy. Vj enjoys while aj too tastes if I give.

Most of the times, it is sourced from Malaysia I guess. Last week when I went for monthly groceries, saw these fairly good quality kappa kizhangu. Usually it will be Vj who checks with me if we are buying tapioca. This time, it was me, who asked him. I picked five tapioca tubes. Before he wondered, I told myself I am going to make kappa vada.

I wanted to try this ever since we tasted it in our recent India trip in a restaurant called Kappa chakka kandhari. I instagrammed about it too. It was so evident that the vada was deep fried in coconut oil. Soft, melt in mouth vada which had minimal ingredient, simple but flavourful.

Kappa vada recipe

Kappa vada recipe with easy procedure and simplest ingredients. Using small onion in the kappa kizhangu vadai adds flavour. Full video recipe.

2 tapioca (tubes)
1 tbsp rice flour (heaped)
10 small onions (finely chopped)
2 green chilli (finely chopped)
1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)
Salt as needed
Coconut oil/ any cooking oil to deep fry

Boil tapioca in enough water, cook until soft. Mash it well once cooled down.
Take mashed kappa, chopped onion, green chilli, ginger, cumin seeds, curry leaves, coriander leaves, rice flour, salt.
Add little water to loosen up and mix.
Grease your hands with water. Make small balls out of it.
Flatten into vada. Shape few vadas and keep it ready for a batch.
Heat oil in a kadai until hot. Do not let it fume.
Slip in the vadais and deep fry both sides until golden.
Drain in paper towels. Repeat to finish.

I tried steaming, but it took really longer than boiling method.

You can also pressure cook with enough water to immerse tapioca, cook for two whistles in medium flame.

If grinding the tapioca in blender for mashing, do not use more than one or two grinds. Grinding too long turns rubbery.

Slice, chop onion well for good taste.

The vada puffs nicely. So pat to required thickness accordingly.

Do not let the oil be too hot while dropping the vada. It will make the surface rough and uneven and drinks more oil.

Use cold pressed coconut oil for best results.

Kappa vada method:

Cut, peel and wash tapioca. Refer this video on how to peel tapioca in detail.
Boil tapioca in enough water, cook until soft. Mash it well once cooled down.
I ground one batch to crumble. You can skip and mash with a potato masher or hands too.
Take mashed kappa, chopped onion, green chilli, ginger, cumin seeds, curry leaves, coriander leaves, rice flour, salt. Add little water to loosen up and mix.
Grease your hands with water. Make small balls out of it. Flatten into vada. Shape few vadas and keep it ready for a batch.
Heat oil in a kadai until hot. Do not let it fume. Slip in the vadais and deep fry both sides until golden.
Drain in paper towels. Repeat to finish.