Kothimbir vadi ( Cilantro cutlets)

Ingredients -

Cilantro - 1 bunch
Bengal gram flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 Tbsp
ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Corriander seed powder - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Green chilies - 3
Red chili powder - 1tsp
Asafoetida or hing - 1/2 tsp
sugar - 1tsp
salt
sesame seeds - 2tsp

(  * One can just steam  and put the tempering on the steam vadis. Traditionally , it is deep fried , but shallow frying is a good method to make it tasty and comparatively healthy. )
RECIPE -
1. Chop cilantro finely. Add gram flour and rice flour and mix with all the ingredients above except sesame seeds.
2. Grease the plate. and put the above mixture in the plate. Let it steam for 8-10 minutes .
3. Let it cool down. And then cut into squares.
4. Heat oil in the pan. Put the sesame seeds and shallow fry these cilantro cutlets or Kothimbir Vadi.

Kothimbir vadi is the traditional Maharashtrian dish. Unlike vada-pav and pav-bhaji this food item is uncommon.One can hardly find this on the restaurant menu. This really very tasty dish can be served as a snack with chutney or it could be an appetizer in a meal. I like to eat it as part of a  meal.
I was missing mom's kothimbir vadi and never tried it before.That day my friend came for a lunch and I wanted to make something special for her. It turned out really tasty. My friend never tasted this dish before. She just loved it !!!

Usually we use cilantro to garnish some dishes, but in this dish cilantro is the main ingredient. Cilantro is rich in pro-vitamin A ( carotene).It is rich in Vitamin C ( which diminishes on storage),potassium, fibre,iron. And 1 cup of cilantro has only 5 kcal. ( Culinary Herbs )