Crispy Rice Vadas ( Chaula Bara )

It’s been raining heavily here and though many parts of the world are still enjoying their summer, we are ready to welcome the Monsoon here. The sounds of the rain drops in the window pane drove me back to my childhood memories when rainy days are welcomed with adrakwali chai and an array of foods like aloo chop, Bara, Singada(Samosa), Mudhi Mixture etc. As my father would never allow us to have those amazing street foods for which Odisha is famous for as he was very strict with hygiene, so my mother used to make all those delicious items at home. If you happen to ever land up in Bhubaneswar, you cannot escape the aroma of street food of the city. Among a plethora of foods to try out , Bara-ghuguni is a typical Odia comfort snack that you must not forget to try. Hot baras dipped in warm ghuguni in the monsoons is a snack to die for.

You must be wondering why am I going on about monsoon foods, you got me right, this is the theme for our 47th Foodie Monday Blog Hop #Monsoon Madness. Monsoon….a cup of tea…..and some hot crispy things on the plate and a good book is what I need to keep myself busy and of course happy.

Through my blog I have always taken you through various lesser known recipes belonging to Odisha , which are not only drool worthy , they are also amazing in taste. One such delicacy had caught my fancy and this seems the perfect backdrop for this crispy regional delicacy to have it’s introduction……CHAULA BARA ( Crispy Rice Vada) . This is very different from the Bara and Ghuguni we eat in the Coastal regions. The major difference is the use of rice in the Rice Vadas whereas we use Urad daal Vadas in our Bara Ghuguni.

Kosli cuisine or Sambalpuri cuisine is integral to the Kosli cultural identity and it is quite different in every sense from that of the coastal Odisha. Rice is the main component of the diet. Some of the important Kosli foods are Kardi (bamboo shoot), Hendua Chutchuta, Paatalghantaa Dhuldhulaa, Lethaa, Aambil, Thukthukaa, Chaul Bara and Bhuja. Basi Pakhal (fermented rice), Sukha jhuri (sun dried fish), Chitka, Rasbaraa (Prepared from green gram and sugar). Among others , Chaula Bara has caught the attention of many and now it has traveled to many places .These crispy rice vadas  are very famous street food in Sambalpur and these are  savored with fried chillis and green chilli chutney known as Mircha chutney.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice
• 4 tbsp urad daal
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds
• 1/2tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 to 2 green chilli chopped
• salt as per taste
• ½ tsp baking soda
• Few curry leaves
• Oil for deep frying

 Let's Learn how to make this crispy Chaula Bara:

• Wash and soak the rice, urad dal overnight.
• Grind the soaked rice, urad dal to make a thick batter using less amount of water .
• Add chopped onion, green chillies, carom seeds, cumin seeds, baking soda, and salt. Mix well to form a smooth batter.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan , once the oil is hot, then take a spoonful of rice batter in your hand and carefully drop this in the hot oil . Fry till the colour of the baras changing  to golden brown. Flip and cook the  other side. Repeat the same with the remaining batter.
• Serve it with Tomato chutney and mircha chutney which is nothing but a tangy green chutney made with crushed green chillies, garlic, tamarind paste, coriander/ mint and salt.