Cabbage, Onion And Blackgram Fritters "Doughnut Vadai"

Day4 of BM#4: My neighbors, a gay couple sold their house last week and moved out. I mean why would anyone want to sell their house when its not a seller's market?? Found a bigger house?? Can't afford to pay the mortgage?? Don't know what the reason was but I am sad to see them go.I will especially miss "hubby#2" cause he was a true example of perseverance and discipline. There wasn't much of an interaction between us except for an occasional hi and bye..But I used to watch him..Don't take it wrong, I wasn't ogling but I liked watching him go about his business.You see,my kitchen overlooks his garage and since I spend most of my time washing and cleaning in the kitchen I couldn't escape clapping eyes on him, whether I liked it or not. Oh, I liked.
So "hubby#2" drives a blue beetle. I have never seen someone care of their car like he did. Rain or shine, hell or high-water, he would clean his car the old-fashioned way - with a pail of water and a soapy sponge exactly 2 times a week. No more, no less. Even when there was snow on the ground he carried on. Nothing would deter him from his car-cleaning obligation. That kind of dogged determination certainly impressed me and I rejoiced that I had found "my muse for discipline". He had recently adopted an uber cute Chihuahua puppy that he would take for a walk right after he comes from work.Now my loss is two-fold -- I will miss my neighbor "hubby#two" and his puppy too.
Speaking of discipline and perseverance, you will need it both if you want to make this deliciously deep-fried fritter. The texture and consistency of the batter is important if you want the fritters to have that perfect hole in the center to resemble a doughnut and there is no easy way out. The batter is indeed unforgiving..if it is too runny it will end up like these. So if you fail to achieve this perfection first time, try it again and again. Its totally worth it. Addition of cabbage in this "Doughnut Vadai" was a new for me.
I first saw this at Kathy's space, The Colors of Indian Cooking,  about 2 months ago. Kathy is an extremely talented Hollywood writer and an equally talented cook whose Momo recipe, Pizza recipe, Vietnamese drip coffee recipe and definitely this Cabbage fritter recipe have made me go mad with wanting. I made this Fritters(Vadai) for my hubby's potluck party at work and he said they were gone in a matter of minutes. Its totally irresistible and definitely not to be missed out. Even my 3-yr old who doesn't care for hot, spicy food but certainly loves deep-fried goodies, asks for seconds.He is equally crazy about Masala Vadai too.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Whole Black Lentil/Black Gram minus the shell
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 Cup Finely Shredded Cabbage
• 1/8 Cup Finely Chopped Cilantro
• 4-6 Hot Green Chilies or More/Less 
• 1/2" Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/8 Cup Fresh or Frozen Green-peas (Optional)
• Canola Oil for deep-frying

Tool:

• Kadai or a dutch oven for deep frying

Procedure:

• Soak the Black Lentils in water for about 2-3 hours.

• Drain it completely and grind it to a fine paste with very-less/no water either in a food processor or a blender.

• Remove the seeds of the hot green chili, finely chop and add to the lentil paste.

• Add the chopped cabbage, onion, cilantro, salt to the batter. I did not grind the onions because it leaves water and that is bad for the batter. The batter has to be relatively thick to make a doughnut shaped fritter.

• Place a Ziploc plastic bag on a flat surface, smear it with oil and add a golf-ball size batter. Press it down gently to form a Pattie. Using the forefinger put a hole in the center.

• Pick up the Ziploc bag with your left hand, transfer the doughnut to your right hand and drop it gently into the oil. Repeat for the remaining batter. Deep fry fritters in batches until they are browned evenly on both sides.

• Fish them out of the oil using a skimmer and drain them on paper towel and serve it hot and crispy with a cup of Masala Chai/Tea.

Makes ~ 20 Doughnut Fritters.

Note:

• It is extremely important that you grind the batter with as less water as possible(no more than 2-3 tbsp). The dough has to be relatively thick to form a perfect doughnut shaped fritter.
• Do not let the batter rest. The salt in the batter will make the cabbage and onion shed water thereby making it soggy.Ergo, no perfect doughnut and no crispy fritter.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing (Group 3) BM#4 along with me-
Diabetes Diet/Management: Kamalika, Smitha, Suma
Kid Friendly Recipes: Anusha, Cool Lassi(e)
Seven Days of Soup: Priya Suresh
Seven Days of Indian Bread: Jayasree, Pavani
Seven Days of Cakes:  Priya Vasu
Seven Days of Preserves: Gayathri Kumar, Vaishali
30 Minutes Meals: Priya Mahadevan, Sriv

Enjoy!