Vadagam is the seasoning balls in our region (Thiruttani, Tamilnadu, India). Vadagams give a special aroma to the keerai and kuzhambhu varieties. It is usually made by the expert elders of the family for their daughters and the daughter-in-laws. They make it every year in the summer when the sun is hot and the onions are cheap. The stock thus made serves the whole year’s need for seasoning/thallipu. They are made into balls just for the ease of counting. When these are sundried, there would be many other sun light projects going on by the side like rice vadams (called arisi kanji vathal in tamil), dry red chillies, dry mango for future pickles (manga vathal). The kids in the house will be in the terrace all the time tasting the manga vathal and eventually say their grandmas that they were chasing away the crows. Just like baby sitting , there will be a vadagam/vathal sitter taking care to protect them from the unexpected evening showers. It takes pains but the gains are worth the pains.
Ingredients:
Onion- 1 and 1/2 kg
Garlic- 1/4 kg
Urad dall- 1/4 kg + 50 gm
Mustard seeds- 1/4 kg
Gram dall- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds- 2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 kg
Turmeric powder- 2 tsp
Castor oil- as needed
50 gm of urad dall and fenugreek seeds are soaked for an hour first and ground to a coarse paste.This gives the binding to the balls.
The onion and garlic are peeled and coarsely crushed. This is typically done using a ullakai and ural. (I browsed a lot for these images but could not find it, so find here my scribble to illustrate it).
Then the mustard seeds, urad dall,gram dall, cumin seeds are added to it. Then the ground paste, turmeric powder and salt are added and mixed well. This is allowed to stand for two days. On the third day, they are made into balls with castor oil as the grease. The oil also acts as preservative.
These balls are sundried for 10 subsequent days and stored in an air tight container.
In a country like US when it is all the time snow and rain and little sunshine, we might try to make these in smaller quantity and in loose form and dry it for longer time in the oven. When I try and win in the attempt, I will update my success here.
Seasoning with vadagams and curry leaves
Hi Lakshmi, never heard about this, Thanks for sharing the story behind it
Hi Lakshmi,I never knew about this one.Will try it when I go to india next time.Nice recipe for instant tadka/tempering without the hassle of chopping onions etc.
I think I posted the comment for this post in the next one sorry. I wanted to say it’s a traditional recipe. Good one.
hi lakshmi
i don’t know about this..nice recipe and presentation too…
Hi lakshmi,
Your postings are really gorgeous.
Wonderful dishes….
Keep posting.
What a lovely picture of the vadagam. I think we call it kuzhambu karudam where karamani is also used. Lovely post !
Its a very unique recipe. I have never heard of it earlier also. Your post made me remmember the times my Mother used to make pickles at home. I always stole a chance to eat thr dried green mangoes
.
Also, if you want to have a pic of ullakai and ural , you can find it on my site http://www.sunkiran.com/?page_id=40 . Feel free to use the picture for your website.
Thanxs for the lovely post.
I have heard about this from a friend of mine, she told me that they make this in karnataka too, and now thanks to you I have the recipe too.
On a separate note: I have tried your recipe for jamuns with pancake flour, they turned out really good. Thanks for the recipe.
Dear friends,
Thanks for all your comments. The vadagam is so indispensable in our kitchens and am happy to throw light on this highly regional condiment.
Hi Sushma,
Thanks for the info, but unfortunately, it is not the kind shown there. The ulakai is about 4 feet long and made of wood with metal rings at the ends.
Hi Arjuna,
Nice to know that the jamuns came out well for you.Cheers!
what an age old recipe. really a treasure..
Hi
I happened to read your recipe about the Vadagams today. I am from tamilNadu(madras), but have never heard of vadagams and the way they are used. Is it ever used in restaturants ?
Do you make them like Karu Vadams ? Then before adding them to a dish(Kooto or Kuzhambu), break the balls and add to the seasoning. Allow it to fry in the seasoning before adding vegetables etc ?
If you dont mind is it a Chettinad speciality or something like that ? I am trying to learn chettinad ‘yennai kathrikai’ and ‘kara kuzambu’.
Also, in your recipe for Rasgolla, do you pressure cook with weight placed ?
Thanks for your response.
Sheila
Hello; Do you know how to make thuvaial using this vadagam? My mother used to make that but I do not know how and now I want to make it. If you do, please send it to my e-address. Thanks. Sarsi
[...] Do the thalippu with vadagam , add and heat . When the kuzhambhu is about to start boiling , turn off the [...]
Hi amma:
I live in NJ of usa. Here the weather is very cold and i am planning to make it at home using our oven. Your post and the thalipu vadam brought the memory of my mom who passed away 3 months back. i couldn’t come out of it and let alone think any of her dishes, somehow i dont want to do any of my mom’s dishes, even the sambar powder that she gave me some 5 months back since i visited her was not used until now. But this vadam pic made me yearn for my mom’s food and all my mom’s recipe, and i desperately want to do this..since i used to use this vadam in anything and everything.
Will you suggest me a small quantity & portions to be used to make them (eg for a small bag of shallots that we get in Indian stores, what amount of other ingredients should i use? can i grind them into course paste in a food processor?
Reg oven temp setting, i plan to use the same temp control that i use for oven dried tomatoes, 200 F for 4-5 hrs. The only change that i think is to make the balls flat, so that i aids in easy, even cooking.
Any, any response from you will make me feel highly happy. Thanks a lot. Take care. God bless you amma.
Anbulla amma,
Can you please tell me where can we buy this vadagam ? I live in Pennsylvania USA
Thank you
Anasuya
hello amma,
just saw ur website and relished the vadagams .my husband loves to eat it and am bit nervous to make it.can u tell me exactly how i should make with this thalippu vadagam.
thank you
sangeeta
Hi I live in South Africa. Here it is called vadavum. I learnt to make it from my mother. Basically I chop up the onion ,shallot add tumeric and salt and dry the onion on trays. It takes about 4 to 5 days. I then add cumin fenugreek mustard split black dhall curry leaves and castor oil. I bottle it and use it for braising. Some people make it into balls and then dry it.
I have been seraching every indian store here for that…no luck…but ur recipe seems doable…may be i should do it at home…thanks!
i found a oven based recipe check it out at
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/08/vadouvan-delectable-seasoning-and-two.html
I am not sure where to get this but on Feeding Maybells site she had a dish of roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts with vadouvan… can you guide me there or do you have that recipe?
Thanks so much,
Fran
I just got off the phone with my mom who is awaiting my arrival in India around April this year. She has a list of activities that she fondly listed over the phone. One of them is the Vadagam balls that she plans on making. As I was speaking with her I just googled the word “Vadagam” and found this website and wanted to share our family’s fondness with vadagam balls. We are tamil speaking familiy born and raised in Hyderabad. Our cuisine is mostly Nawabi/Andhrite/Tamil cooking. My mom has this book of recipies mostly South Indian that she has collecetd over the years and actively participates in preparing them every year. The Vadagam balls are carefully prepared every year in summer packed and brought to USA when my parents travel to meet me and my brother. My brother is married to a North Indian who never fails to remind my mother to count her and her co sister in the distribution.
We love these vadagam balls and the aroma that arouses in the house everytime i use it for karakozumbhu. I was so glad to know that there was a blog on this. Will have to tell my mom about it.