Drying

Drying

Aim: To formulate recipes for the preparation of Onion vadagam and Sago vadagam.

Equipment needed: Drying trays, knives, table spoons, plastic sheets, vessels, chop-ping board, packaging machine and air-tight containers.

Importance of sun drying

Fresh vegetables, fish and meat are dried by sunlight to decrease the moisture level, to inhibit the growth of microorganism and to control enzyme activity. Selection of vegetables, washing, peeling, cutting and blanching are the essential steps in drying process.

Recipe Formulation – Onion Vadagam

Ingredients          Quantity

Small onions        :         500g

Green chillies        :         50g

Cumin seeds         :         15g

Black gram dhal   :         100g

Mustard      :         5g

Asafoetida  :         5g

Garlic          :         10g

Curry leaves         :         10g

Salt   :         To taste

Method

·        Remove the skin of the onions and chop or crush the onions.

·        Soak black gram dhal in water till it becomes soft

·        Grind black gram dhal, green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds and curry leaves

·        Roast the mustard with little oil and add it to the ground dhal paste

·        Add crushed onions, asafoetida and little salt

·        Mix all the ingredients together into a thick consistency

·        Take small balls and place over plastic sheet and allow it to dry in hot sun

·        When it is fully dried, remove from the sheet and store it in an airtight con-tainer.

Recipe Formulation: Sago Vadagam

Ingredients          Quantity

Sago  :         500g

Water for cooking          :         2 litres

Green chillies        :         10 nos

Salt   :         As needed

Method

·        Soak the sago for 1½ hours in water till it absorbs all the water. Add this to the hot water by adding salt and mashed green chillies paste.

·        Boil the above mixture till it is a trans-parent liquid.

·        Dry in sunlight by spreading with the table spoon to a round shape.

·        Dry it till the moisture gets evaporated.

·        Store it in an airtight container.

Results and Discussion:

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