Medu vada Recipe

 

Ingredients

1 Cup skinned urad dal (dhuli urad)

1/2 Cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

5 – 6 curry leaves

1 roughly chopped green chilli

1 teaspoon black peppercorns (sabut kalimirch), roughly crushed

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for deep-frying

                     Instructions

Prepare Batter

Rinse and soak the urad dal in water for 4 – 5 hours or overnight.  Next day, drain the water from the urad dal and let it sit in the strainer for 5 minutes to drain the excess water.   Now grind the dal in the mixer grinder. 

To get the smooth paste you need to stir the dal a few times while grinding. Turn off the mixer, stir and then grind. Repeat the process till you get thick, smooth dal paste.   Use 1 tablespoon of water at a time to grind the dal. Do not add more than 2 – 4 tablespoons of water. Transfer the dal paste to a clean, large bowl. 

You can whisk the dal using an electric hand blender or manually. Continuous whisking of 8 – 10 minutes is good enough to incorporate air in the dal.   Add 2 – 3 tablespoons of water if the batter is too thick and then whisk. 

Season Batter

Add salt, chopped green chilli, onion, ginger, curry leaves, black pepper and spices in the dal. Mix nicely.

Prepare Vada:

Heat oil in a wide deep frying pan.

To shape the vada, keep water in a small bowl next to the dal paste. Soak the fingers of both the hands in water and pinch a lemon size portion of dal paste. Hold it with your one hand fingers and flatten it using the other hand wet fingers. Make a hole in the center of the flattened vada using your finger.

Gently slip it on to the pan of hot oil to deep fry. For safety reasons, it is best to slide the shaped vada from the sides of the pan.

 Deep fry the vada over medium-high heat till they turn golden brown, crisp from both sides.

Transfer to a plate lined with a kitchen towel. Serve Medu Vada warm with coconut chutney and sambar. 

Recipe Notes

Use only white skinless urad dal for making the vada batter. 

It is an essential step to soak the dal for vada at least 5 – 6 hours before grinding.

Use very little water while grinding the dal (by little I mean not more than 2 – 4 tablespoons). If the batter seems thick add a tablespoon of water at a time. 

After grinding without adding salt whisk the batter for 10 minutes or till it is light, airy, and fluffy.

Always wet your fingers with water before shaping the vada, or you can use banana leaf also for the purpose.

I prefer frying the vada at medium-high heat so that it gets perfectly cooked from the inside and crisp from the outside.

Store the leftover vada batter in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days.