Chettinad Vadagam Recipe / Thalippu Vadagam

Chettinad Vadagam Recipe

Thalippu Vadagam also known as Vengaya Vadagam is an authentic and aromatic spice of Chettinad, made by combining several ingredients like shallots, garlic and whole spices and drying it in direct sunlight. This an aromatic tempering used in many of South Indian and Chettinad dishes like Sambar, Kuzhambu and Kootu. This is my granny's recipe, which is passed on to my mother and to me. You can prepare this in large batches, store them in airtight container for an year and use as required while tempering dishes.

Ingredients

Chinna Vengayam/ Shallots( Small onions)-1 kg

Ulli Poondu/ Small garlic-1/2 kg

Green chilles-1/4 kg

Mustard seeds-50 gms

Split Urad dal/ Split black gram dal- 250 gms

Jeera/ Cumin seeds- 50gms

Fenugreek/ Methi seeds- 20gms

Curry leaves- 8 sprigs

Nallennai/ Gingelly oil- 50gm

Velakennai/ Castor oil- 50gm

Turmeric powder- 4tsp

Method

1.  Peel onion and garlic skins.

2.  Mince onion, garlic and green chilles in a mixer grinder( should be rough and coarse).

3.  To the onion mixture, add rest of the above said ingredients. Mix in both the oils to the mixture and make medium sized balls. Keep these balls in direct sunlight for 10 days. When these balls are fully dried, store it in airtight jars. You can store these vadagam balls for a year. 

Tips to prepare

1. Take 2 balls of vadagam, crush them and store it in small container.

2. For using as tempering, to the medium hot oil add 1tsp of crushed vadagam and allow it to turn golden brown, then add the rest of the ingredients.( Do not burn the vadagam as they may turn bitter).