Vodos are must for certain religious and festive preparation in North Kanara . Vodos are small round shaped discs made from urad dal flour and rice flour. In North Kanara there is a custom of preparing vodos during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in every house irrespective of whether they place the idol at home or not .The other religious functions when vodos are prepared are during Navaratri(mhanami in Konkani) and ” Deva-jevan ” which is a pre wedding ritual. Some families in South Kanara too have the deva-jevan ritual where vodos are prepared and served with payasu(dessert) famously called as vodo payas/ras vodo
As Ganesh Chaturthi is nearing I thought of sharing this recipe in our blog with measurements taken from my Amma.I have very fond memories of having Vodos with mooga ghashi(green gram /mung is very auspicious in North Kanara and ghashi is always there in the menu) in my paternal grand parents home when we used to visit during ” Chowthi ” as kids.Though at my In-laws place we don’t have the tradition of bringing the idol , I love to prepare all delicacies which are meant for preparing during Ganesh Chaturthi/Chowthi so that my daughter too can enjoy.Do try this authentic traditional recipe whenever possible.
As Ganesh Chaturthi is nearing I thought of sharing this recipe in our blog with measurements taken from my Amma.I have very fond memories of having Vodos with mooga ghashi(green gram /mung is very auspicious in North Kanara and ghashi is always there in the menu) in my paternal grand parents home when we used to visit during ” Chowthi ” as kids.Though at my In-laws place we don’t have the tradition of bringing the idol , I love to prepare all delicacies which are meant for preparing during Ganesh Chaturthi/Chowthi so that my daughter too can enjoy.Do try this authentic traditional recipe whenever possible.
Ingredients:-
- 1/4 th cup(small katori) of urad dal
- 3 to 3 &1/2 cups of rice flour(use the same cup/katori)
- A pinch of methi seeds
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 2 small ladles or 1 big ladle of hot oil(use the same oil for frying too) (check NOTES)
- Oil as required for deep frying
Method:-
- Roast urad dal and methi seeds for 2-3 minutes till you get a nice aroma .Need not wait till colour change .Cool and grind to a fine powder.
- Transfer to a bowl and add rice flour and salt.
- Add melted butter and hot oil and mix well.
- Knead into a nice, soft and pliable dough using enough water(check NOTES)
- Pinch small portions of the dough and form marble sized balls.
- Grease a plastic sheet or aluminium foil and with the help of the edges of your palms or using the bottom of any bowl/katori pat them into small sized discs,not too thin nor too thick.
- Heat oil and lower the flame to medium,drop the discs in batches and deep fry till golden brown.
- Remove on to a paper napkin to remove excess oil and allow to cool.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Here is the pictorial for the various stages
Vodos are prepared a week before in large quantities and stored in an air tight containers / barrels and are distributed as prasad for all those who come to have darshan of lord Ganesh at my paternal home.The size of the vodos depends on the quantity they need. Some prefer it very tiny while some prefer the size as shown above.The vodos if patted into very small thick roundels puff up when deep fried like the pani puris.If patted slightly bigger and thin they dont puff up much and are slightly on the flatter side.You can also pat them bigger and thick so that they puff up if you prefer.We personally at home prefer slightly bigger and flatter as they are easy to store and dont get crushed while storing and are also easy to carry while travelling.Whatever the shape and size of vodos…the main criteria is they should turn crispy…doesnt matter if they doesnt puff up at all or some puff up and some don’t.
Vodos are made in small quantities daily for Naivedya too along with chakkuli.
Notes:-
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- Urad dal should be made into fine powder or else it would break & scatter in oil while frying.
- You can use half dalda and half oil too if you prefer,as that’s how it is made when preparing in large quantities.
- Some prefer making it only with rice flour too but we prefer this version.
- Be careful while adding methi seeds as too much of it will result in bitter taste.
- Coconut water too can be added to form the dough as it gives a nice flavour and aroma.
- Use same oil for both ..dough and frying… i.e either coconut oil or regular cooking oil.
- If you do not add sufficient oil while preparing the dough it will be difficult to make the discs.
- The vodos puff up like pani puris if they are thick and may not puff up at all if they are patted thin…it is perfectly fine either way.
- I have used a small katori and not the standard measuring cup..use same cup/katori for measuring both urad dal and rice flour.
Here’s a picture of vodos served with payasu/godshe which I made for Chaturthi feast.Here It has been served with mugadali godshe/mungdal payasu …can also
be served with chanadali godshe(madgane).The payasu/godshe is poured on top of vodos ..the vodos are broken into bits and eaten along with the payasu…ahh !!! Bliss Indeed
Konkani Khann Anik Jevan 
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