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Home » Indian Dals Gravies » Himachali Sepu Vadi – Split Urad Dal Vadi In Spinach Gravy

Himachali Sepu Vadi - Split Urad Dal Vadi In Spinach Gravy

Published: May 31, 2018 Modified: Sep 9, 2020 By Sujata Shukla This blog generates income via ads. This post may contain affiliate links. PepperOnPizza may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking these links. View our disclosure policy for details

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Sepu vadi, ie split Urad dal Vadi in Spinach Gravy, is a traditional recipe from the hilly Northern Indian State of Himachal Pradesh. A very tasty curry, I found it interesting to make.

A white bowl of greenish sept vadi curry with a plate of chaptatis and green checked napkin alongside

As a member of the foodie group Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge I have been participating in our current project of cooking from the cuisine of each of the States of India, in turn. The theme for May 2018 was Himachal cuisine, so I sat down to search cook books and online references for a traditional Himachali dish to make. (More about how this group works, later on in this post.) Though I have visited Himachal and enjoyed the food there, it is only when I read up for this post that I understood the sheer variety of dishes that make up its wonderful cuisine. One set of dishes are made for the traditional feasts called Dhams. You may like to read more about these in this article that I came across online: Himachali dham.

The split Urad dal Vadi in Spinach Gravy  is similar to the popular palak paneer in appearance, but the taste is very different as several spices, including fennel with its distinctive flavour, are used in the spinach gravy as well as while making the vadi.

This is the second time I have prepared a curry using fried lentil nuggets in a vegetable gravy. The first was when I made this awesome tasting Bihari Baingan Badi Sabzi.

A bowl of baingan badi curry on a green background with dill leaves on one side and a pink embroidered fabric alongside
Baingan Badi Sabzi

Let me tell you a little from what I learnt about the vadi for the split Urad dal Vadi in Spinach Gravy. The badi (wadi/vadi) I made for the Baingan Badi Sabzi required the whole (sabut) urad dal (black gram dal) to be soaked overnight, ground to a batter and the little badis made from the batter to be sun dried and finally, fried and added to the curry.

For this curry though, ie split Urad dal Vadi in Spinach Gravy, I used split black gram (split urad dal) lentils, soaked overnight, and then ground to a paste along with spices, steamed and then fried and added to the curry. A totally different method of preparation and of course, taste, though I must say both the badi and this vadi turned out delicious in their respective curries.

When you make the vadi or urad dal fritters according to this recipe, you may have some left over - store the fried vadis in an airtight container and use them in kadhi or or in a curry.

I had fried the vadi in mustard oil, but if you are not used to the taste, you may substitute with a vegetable oil such as sunflower oil instead. Sesame oil, coconut oil and olive oil however, would not give you the authentic taste.

The vadi may be made with white whole (sabut) urad dal, but I preferred this version with the split dal with skin on.

Split Urad dal fritters on brass plate, ready to add to the spinach curry
Split Urad dal vadi or black gram lentil fritters

The curry needs some time for preparation and cooking, including steaming the urad dal batter and deep frying the vadi in batches. You may make the vadi a day or two earlier as that needs the maximum time.

In earlier posts, I have talked about how the Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge, works. Each of us is allotted another member as the partner for the month, and we give our partner the names of 2 ingredients, viz the secret ingredients, which will be suitable for the cuisine/theme for the month. We plan the recipe for the month around the secret ingredients and of course fitting into the theme, and then make the item. We post an image of the prepared dish on the group, and all the other members try to guess what could be the 2 secret ingredients. Its not just fun and camaraderie, though there is plenty of that! For each theme, we get to explore cuisines which we may not be familiar with and read about cooking methods used in different regions of India as well as ingredients specific to that region.

My partner for May is Shobana Vijay. We exchanged ingredient names and I requested her to give me as the secret ingredients, cumin seeds and cardamom, which are used in a number of recipes of Himachali cuisine. This fit right into my split Urad dal Vadi in Spinach Gravy.

Shobana blogs at ShobasDelight.  I found it a lovely site to browse, with a line up of several recipes including traditional Indian recipes using a variety of vegetables and with step by step instructions. Please do visit her blog, as well as check out the delicious looking Channa Madra that she made using the two secret ingredients I gave her: mustard oil and chickpeas.

Sending this recipe to the following event:

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Split Urad dal vadi in spinach gravy, Sepu vadi, a spiced spinach and dill gravy with fried black gram lentil fritters, is a traditional curry from Himachal Pradesh in Northern India

Himachali Sepu Vadi - Split Urad Dal Vadi In Spinach Gravy

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 10 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Author: Sujata Shukla
Traditional Himachali Sepu Vadi, split Urad dal vadi in spinach gravy. The vadi /lentil fritters are made from soaked, ground, steamed, split black gram dal, and then shaped, fried, added to a spinach and dill gravy cooked in spices. Enjoy the curry with roti, naan bread or with a simple rice dish such as jeera (cumin) rice.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

For Urad dal Vadi / Black gram Fritters

  • ½ cup Split black urad dal/ split black gram lentils - Soaked overnight
  • ½ teaspoon Black peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon Fennel seeds / Saunf
  • ½ inch ginger
  • ½ teaspoon salt - or to taste
  • ½ cup mustard oil - or sunflower oil

For Spinach Puree

  • 1 -2 bunches Spinach leaves - about 1.5 to 2 cups when pureed
  • 1 tablespoon chopped dill leaves
  • 1 green chilli
  • 2 Cloves
  • 1 green cardamom
  • 5-6 Black peppercorns
  • ½ inch fresh ginger

Spices Mix for Grinding

  • 1 Bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon Coriander seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon Fennel seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon asafoetida hing
  • ½ inch cinnamon
  • 1 Black Cardamom

For Sepu Vadi - Spinach curry with Black gram fritters

  • 1 ½ -2 cups Spinach Puree - Prepared as per instructions below
  • ½ cup Yogurt/Curd
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon mustard oil - or Sunflower oil or other vegetable oil
  • Spice mix - Prepared as per instructions below
  • 1 tomato - Diced into 1 cm pieces - optional
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder/ Haldi
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt - or to taste
  • 1 cup Urad dal Vadi - Prepared as per instructions below
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice - optional

Instructions

To make the split black urad dal Vadi

  • Time Required: 8 hours soaking + 5 minutes grinding + 1 hours fermentation (optional) + 15 minutes steaming + 20 mins frying Rinse and soak the split black urad dal (split black gram lentils) in 1 cup of water, overnight. After it is soaked, drain, rinse and again drain the dal. Add all the ingredients listed above for making Urad dal vadi (except the mustard oil) and grind it into a thick paste using as no water or as little water as possible - 1 or two teaspoons only, if required. Set aside for an hour to ferment (optional)
    Soaked black dal lentils ground into a thick brown paste with spices chilli and ginger
  • Spread the spiced urad dal batter on an idli plate or other steaming plate, cover and steam over boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove from steamer, spread on a plate keeping the thickness to about ½ cm and slice into small squares or rectangles (about an inch long) Allow to cool Heat ½ cup of oil and deep fry the vadi in batches. Drain and keep aside till required.
    Split Urad dal fritters on brass plate, ready to add to the spinach curry
  • To fry the vadi as above, you may find these timings useful: Heat the oil till it is smoking hot. Drop the pieces of batter one by one into the hot oil, taking care to leave some space between each ( and take care while working with hot oil!) Reduce the heat to low. After about 3 minutes, turn (flip) each one carefully with a spatula so that the bottom side is now up. Increase the heat to medium or high. Another 3 minutes, and then again turn the badis. Remove after 1 minute and place in a colander to drain. Heat the oil again for the next batch. Set aside till required.

To Prepare the Spinach Puree

  • Time: 5 minutes to blanch and drain + 5 minutes to puree Cut away hard stems and dry or rotten leaves from the bunch of spinach. Chop and then wash the spinach well. Heat water in a pan until it is boiling, and add the chopped spinach. Cover the pan, turn off the stove and blanch the spinach for 3 minutes. Meanwhile prepare an ice bath by adding ice cubes to a a basin of water. Drain and quickly put the spinach into the ice bath and drain after 1 minute. Squeeze gently to remove excess water. The spinach will then retain its bright green colour. 2. Rinse and drain the dill, squeeze away excess water and chop it.
  • Puree the spinach along with the other ingredients in the list above for Spinach puree ie the dill, ginger, chilli and spices, without adding water during the process. Set aside till required.

To prepare the Spice Mix

  • Time: 5 minutes Pound all the spices as in the Ingredients list above for Spice mix, into a coarse powder. The Black cardamom needs only to be slightly crushed so that it opens up a little. Set aside till required.

To make the Sepu Vadi - Spinach curry with fritters

  • Time Prep 5 minutes + 20 minutes cooking time Beat the curd / yogurt/ dahi and add to the spinach puree. Add water as in the ingredients list for Sepu Vadi above, and whisk it all in. Set aside. Dice the tomato if using, into 1 cm pieces
  • Heat the oil (see ingredients list for making Sepu Vadi above) in a medium sized pan. Add the bay leaf and then the crushed/pounded spice mix. Sauté for 1 minute Add the sliced tomatoes (if using) and sauté for 1 minute Add the turmeric and chilli powders, sauté for 30 seconds.
    Bay leaf and spices sautéed in oil for making Split Urad dal vadi in Spinach gravy
  • Pour the spinach puree into the pan, stir and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt, stir.
  • Add the fried urad dal fritters one by one into the gravy, about 8-10 small vadis should be enough for 1.5 cups of spinach puree without overcrowding the curry. Simmer the curry for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve hot with a dash of lemon juice (if using), with hot rice or chapatis.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. themadscientistskitchen says

    June 13, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Wow ! I love this recipe it is so unique. Bookmarking to try it.

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 14, 2018 at 1:19 pm

      Thank you Archana!

      Reply
  2. Anu Kollon says

    June 12, 2018 at 7:07 pm

    Looks delicious .. I like any dish made of spinach and this is going to be ‘must try’ dish.

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 14, 2018 at 1:20 pm

      Thanks Anu! Yes and an advantage that it is nutritious too, so there is one more reason to make this one!

      Reply
  3. poonampagar says

    June 10, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    Loved the way you have explained the detailed recipe with making of Wadia from scratch .the whole recipe sounds elaborate but I am sure the final outcome is worth the efforts..wonderful share di !

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 14, 2018 at 1:20 pm

      Thank you Poonam! Its elaborate yes, but each of the steps are easy. Need to plan some time while doing it though..

      Reply
  4. Priya Satheesh says

    June 10, 2018 at 7:30 am

    Absolutely delicious curry and interesting.. very new to me. Will try sometime.

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 14, 2018 at 1:21 pm

      Thank you Priya! Do let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  5. Priya Suresh says

    June 10, 2018 at 1:45 am

    Such an ultimate dish, simply inviting and am sure this urad dal vadi in spinach gravy will definitely tickle my tastebuds.. Inviting dish there.

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 14, 2018 at 1:21 pm

      Thank you Priya! So glad you liked the look of the recipe!

      Reply
  6. Batter Up With Sujata says

    June 09, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    A completely new and delicious recipe. Thanks for the step by step detailed recipe. Bookmarking it to try later 😊

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 14, 2018 at 1:22 pm

      Thank you so much Sujata!

      Reply
  7. Aruna says

    June 03, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    What a unique dish, Sujata. I have bookmarked this to try. For me, this would be a complete meal by itself. 🙂

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 03, 2018 at 5:40 pm

      Thank you Aruna! It’s a nice alternative to Palak Paneer, I think! I

      Reply
  8. Vidya Narayan says

    June 03, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    Absolutely loved scrolling through the entire recipe and loved the idea of those urad dal badis from scratch. Excellent use of ingredients alloted to come up with such a wonderful recipe. As always, its a pleasure reading your posts and also seeing the books on the side of the dish. This one has Ruskin Bond for company. Hahah.. Great recipe and a great author as well. Cheers!

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 03, 2018 at 5:39 pm

      Thank you so much Vidya. And yes, I cannot think of Himachal Pradesh without thinking of Ruskin Bond who has made these hills his home and given us such wonderful stories about the place!

      Reply
      • Vidya Narayan says

        June 03, 2018 at 6:07 pm

        Well, he is my favourite too. Cheers!

        Reply
  9. The Girl Next Door says

    June 03, 2018 at 11:20 am

    The Sepu Vadi looks absolutely gorgeous! I love how you have used home-made vadi here. 🙂

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 03, 2018 at 11:24 am

      Thank you Priya. I like making these items from scratch

      Reply
  10. Renu says

    June 01, 2018 at 10:56 pm

    This looks so inviting...and you have made and explained so nicely. Bookmarking this as a new be way of palak gravy...

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 02, 2018 at 12:45 pm

      Thank you Renu, I hope you like it as much as I did!

      Reply
  11. Jagruti says

    June 01, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    What a flavourful and nutritious dish that is, perfect as Low GI dish. Beautiful colour and flavours.

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 02, 2018 at 12:44 pm

      Thank you Jagruti!

      Reply
  12. Mayuri Patel says

    June 01, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    I'd love to try out this unique sept vadi, it looks so delicious. Just got a little confused reading the recipe. The urad batter is steamed. Then you mention to spread it on a plate to a certain thickness. If the batter is steamed, it will set, so how do you spread it?

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      June 01, 2018 at 4:30 pm

      Thanks Mayuri. To answer your query on the batter - the batter doesn’t set unless it is cooled. After steaming for about 15 mins, transfer it to a plate or even chopping board and spread it to the desired thickness, so that you can cut it into manageable pieces. I hope I have clarified but pl feel free to ask, if I haven’t.

      Reply

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Hello from Sujata Shukla, the Author, Owner, Head Cook and Bottle washer at PepperOnPizza.com. The recipes I share with you are from fresh produce, vegetarian except for the occasional egg, usually made from scratch. Traditional Indian, specially Tamil recipes are my forte, along with a slew of Salads and Soups for a healthy lifestyle. Check out my Author Page!

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