Medu Vada recipe
Medu vada is crispy, fluffy and delicious vada that goes very well with coconut chutney or sambar. These urad dal vada are also known as Garelu in Andhra, Uzhunnu Vada in Kerala and Medhu Vadai in Tamil Nadu.
Preparation
Soak 2 cups urad dal for 4 to 5 hours. You could also soak them overnight.
Drain the water. Add the soaked urad dal in a blender or mixer. Add 2 to 3 tablespoon water or as required. But just make sure that not to make the batter very thin. You can grind in parts and add water as required.
Grind into to a smooth batter. The batter should be fluffy, thick and not liquidy. A quick tip is to add a few drops of batter in a bowl of water. The batter drops should float. If they float and do not get dissolved, then that’s the right consistency. If the batter becomes watery or thin, then the instant relief would be to add some semolina or urad dal flour to it.
To the batter, add ⅓ cup finely chopped onion, 1 or 2 sprig of curry leaves (chopped)
Add 1 or 2 finely chopped green chilies, 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger.
Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns and salt as required.
Mix the batter well
Take a bowl of water. Apply some water from the bowl on both your hands.
Take some batter in your hand from the bowl. Give it a round shape to it.
Make a hole in the center.
In a kadai heat oil in medium flame, when the oil becomes hot, slid the medu vada into the hot oil.
When the vada are slightly golden then gently turn over with a slotted spoon and continue to fry.
Fry the medhu vadai until it turns crisp and golden. The oil should be not very hot, but medium hot.
After that drain them on kitchen tissues to remove extra oil.
Serve medu vada with sambar and coconut chutney.
