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    Home

    Ulli Vada Recipe

    Last Updated On: Apr 8, 2025 by Aarthi

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    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Craving for evening snacks, why not try this popular deep fried ulli vada made with onions, chillies, ginger, curry leaves and gram flour. Ulli vada also known as onion vada or vengaya bonda is popular all over South India & Kerala. Easy to make ulli vada recipe in 3 easy steps is shared in this blog post with stepwise pictures and video. Don't forget to serve your onion vada with coconut chutney & masala chai.

    ulli vada served with masala chai on a newspaper

    Ulli Vada

    There is a small tea shop in our native. Around 4’O clock in the evening, people (mostly mens) gather in front of this shop and enjoy their cup of tea along with this deep fried delicacy. The supplier wrap this in an old newspaper right from the oil. That newspaper will absorb all the excess oil when they are ready to eat. It is hot, crispy and delicious. The interior of this vada is soft and fluffy. Can you imagine the fried onions and green chilles aroma just wafting from this.

    I have been longing to make this vada. This vada reminds me my childhood memories. My uncle bought us hot ulli vada quite often, whenever he visits our house.

    Table of Contents

    • About Ulli Vada
    • Watch Ulli Vada Video
    • Ulli vada Ingredients
    • How to Make Ulli Vada (stepwise pictures)
    • Expert Tips
    • Serving
    • 📖 Recipe Card
    • Ulli Vada | Onion Vada

    About Ulli Vada

    Ulli vada also known as onion vada, ulli vadai or vengaya bonda is a popular South Indian snack recipe also popular in Kerala. This is made with sliced onions, green chillies, ginger and spices. The flour which is used to bind is gram flour and sometimes has an addition of rice flour to make it crispy. The taste of ulli vada is similar to onion pakora but the texture varies a bit. it is soft and fluffy inside unlike crispy pakoras.

    Even though ulli vada is easy to make. It has few tricks to get it crispy and fluffy. I have shared all the tips and tricks in this recipe post.

    Ulli vada is usually served during evening tea time along with Indian masala chai, ginger cardamom tea or sulaimani tea. If you are looking for more snack recipes, Check out these two popular vada recipes. Masala Vadai & Ulundu Vadai.

    Watch Ulli Vada Video

    YouTube video

    Ulli vada Ingredients

    ulli vada ingredients

    Onions - I used sliced red onions for making ulli vada. But any variety of onions can be used.

    Green Chillies & Curry Leaves - you have to be careful when adding chilli powder, because green chillies add some spicy kick too.

    Ginger & Garlic paste - adds flavour to the ulli vada also helps with the digestion.

    Fennel seeds - This is my special touch, sprinkle in some whole fennel seeds for aroma.

    Gram flour - gram flour also known as besan or chickpea flour acts as the binding ingredient and helps creating texture.

    Rice Flour - small amount of rice flour provides crispy texture to the vada.

    Spice powders - sometimes i skip adding the spice powders entirely. in here it is mainly for flavour.

    ulli vada served with masala chai

    How to Make Ulli Vada (3 Steps)

    Pre-preparation- Slice onions, green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves.

    Ulli vada mixture - Take all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix gently without adding any water till thick mixture forms.

    Frying - Heat oil and drop small portions of vada in oil, fry till golden. Strain and serve.

    close shot of ulli vada served with masala chai

    How to Make Ulli Vada (stepwise pictures)

    1)Peel skins from the onion. Wash them well, cut them in half and slice them thinly. You can use a mandoline slicer to slice the onions or use a sharp knife. Chop green chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves.

    onions sliced thinly. green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves

    2)In a mixing bowl add sliced onions, green chilli, curry leaves, cilantro, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, baking soda, fennel seeds and mix well by your hands.

    spices added with onions

    3)You should mix this really well so that the water from the onions start to come out. After mixing this leave it aside for 5 mins.

    onion mixed with spices

    4)Add gram flour & rice flour a spoonful at a time and mix well. This vada don’t need any additional water, the moisture in this onions is enough for making the batter. If you need just sprinkle few drops of water.

    add rice flour and gram flour to onion mixture

    5)The mixture should be thick. If it feels runny, sprinkle more gram flour and mix.

    ulli vada mixture ready

    6)Now heat a tsp of oil and pour it in the batter and mix well. This batter should be a think one, so that you can form dumplings out of it.

    pour a tsp of hot oil over ulli vada mixture

    7)When you take the mixture in your hands, you should be able to form small balls easily.

    shape small balls

    7)Heat oil for deep frying. Make small balls out of this mixture and drop in hot oil. Fry this till golden on a medium flame. This will take around 5-10 mins.

    drop vada in hot oil and fry till golden

    8)Once golden brown, strain this onto a paper towel and serve hot.

    ulli vada fried till golden brown

    9)Ulli vada or vengaya bonda taste best when served hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

    ulli vada served with masala chai

    Expert Tips

    Ulli vada mixture

    Mix the spices, salt with the onions really well and leave aside for 5 minutes. This step brings out the water from the onions. After this you can add the gram flour. When making ulli vada mixture, don't add water for making the dough. The water from the onions should be enough.

    When making large batch

    If you are making big batch of ulli vada. You can mix the onion with spices in a bowl and set aside. Just before frying, take some amount of the onion mixture in another bowl, sprinkle with gram flour and rice flour, mix till thick and fry. Doing this in batches will prevent the vada mixture getting watery.

    Frying

    make sure you fry onion vada on medium high heat and not super hot oil. Because if the oil is too hot then the vada gets burnt on the exterior before the centre is cooked.

    Serving

    Ulli vada taste best served piping hot with Coffee and Ginger Tea. But for a change you can enjoy it with a cup of green tea, lemon tea or Mint tea.

    Even though it is not common in many household. We have ulli vada with our breakfast foods like Idli, Ven pongal, Coconut chutney & Sambar.

    More Vada Recipes to Try

    • Paruppu Vadai Recipe
    • Vazhaipoo Vadai Recipe
    • Rasam Vada Recipe (Two Ways)
    • Thayir Vadai Recipe
    • Medu Vada Recipe
    • Sabudana Vada Recipe

    📖 Recipe Card

    Ulli Vada | Onion Vada

    Craving for evening snacks, why not try this popular deep fried ulli vada made with onions, chillies, ginger, curry leaves and gram flour. Ulli vada also known as onion vada is popular all over South India & Kerala. Easy to make ulli vada recipe in 3 easy steps is shared in this blog post with stepwise pictures and video. Don't forget to serve your onion vada with coconut chutney & masala chai.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 18 minutes minutes
    Servings: 15 vadas
    Calories: 71kcal
    Author: Aarthi

    Ingredients

    • ½ kg Onion sliced thinly
    • ½ cup Coriander Leaves chopped
    • 4 Green Chilli chopped
    • 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
    • 1 cup Gram Flour
    • ½ cup Rice Flour
    • 2 sprig Curry leaves
    • 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds
    • 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
    • 2 tsp Chilli Powder
    • ¼ tsp Baking Soda
    • Salt to taste
    • Oil for deep frying + 1 tblspn for adding in batter

    Instructions

    • Peel skins from the onion. Wash them well, cut them in half and slice them thinly. You can use a mandoline slicer to slice the onions or use a sharp knife. Chop green chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves.
    • In a mixing bowl add sliced onions, green chilli, curry leaves, cilantro, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, baking soda, fennel seeds and mix well by your hands.
    • You should mix this really well so that the water from the onions start to come out. After mixing this leave it aside for 5 mins.
    • Add gram flour & rice flour a spoonful at a time and mix well. This vada don’t need any additional water, the moisture in this onions is enough for making the batter.If you need just sprinkle few drops of batter in this.
    • Now heat a tablespoon of oil and pour it in the batter and mix well.This batter should be a think one, so that you can form dumplings out of it.
    • Heat oil for deep frying. Make small balls out of this mixture and drop in hot oil.Fry this till golden on a medium flame. This will take around 5-10 mins.
    • Now drain this in a paper towel. Serve hot with chutney or as it is.

    Video

    YouTube video

    Notes

    • Make sure you slice the onions thinly. 
    • Don't add water when making the mixture. The water from onion mixture is enough to make the dough.
    • Fry the vada in medium high heat till golden so the inside cooks evenly. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servings | Calories: 71kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @yummytummyaarthi or tag #yummytummyaarthi!
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    Aarthi

    About Aarthi

    Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. சிநேகிதி

      at

      வெங்காய வடை நல்லா இருக்கு...

      Reply
    2. Aruna Manikandan

      at

      looks delicious arthi 🙂

      Reply
    3. Federica

      at

      veramente un piatto squisito!baci!

      Reply
    4. Suja

      at

      yummy tea time snack..delicious

      Reply
    5. faseela

      at

      luks delicious

      Reply
    6. Deeksha

      at

      These vadas look superb. So yummy! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    7. Ξανθή

      at

      Delicious!! In Greece "Κρεμμυδοκεφτέδες"

      Reply
    8. Rosita Vargas

      at

      Un plato sabroso,luce perfecto,abrazos grandes.

      Reply
    9. Amina Khaleel

      at

      looks delicious... perfect tea time snack...

      Reply
    10. Kaveri

      at

      A wonderful snack..very nicely presented

      Reply
    11. Manju

      at

      This looks great! It is one of my favorites but Ive so far never learnt how to make them right!

      Reply
    12. Yuvana's Favourites

      at

      WOW. my favourite too. when i tried to make this at home it didnt came well. yours looks exactly the same.

      Reply
    13. Dzoli

      at

      Very interesting onion dish:)

      Reply
    14. Teresa en "Casa Tere"

      at

      Copio la receta, tienen que estar deliciosos y en mi casa nos gustan mucho los sabores de las recetas exoticas de otros paises.
      Un saludo.

      Reply
    15. Chitra

      at

      i too remember the ulli vada we get back home...till date i will ask amma to get me those whenever i go home.... love it...ur looks so yummy

      Reply
    16. Aparna Mishra

      at

      This looks so good!
      http://glamkuks.blogspot.in/?m=1

      Reply
    17. hindu

      at

      this looks really yummy tummy.....excellent recipe....mouth watering...

      Reply
    18. preethi

      at

      Hi Aarthi,

      Mouth watering onion vada 🙂 I am a huge fan of your recipes.. Keep the momentum going!!!

      Reply
    19. Jamuna Sundar

      at

      Hi Aarthi, Onion vada is looking awesome. I was searching for the vada which will be available in tea shop.Finally i found your recipe. Which is looking same like the tea shop vada. I am going to try this. I like the frying pan too. Where did u buy this pan. Thanks. Please let me know.

      Reply
    20. Aarthi

      at

      @Jamuna Sundari got it in a shop called tip top glassware emporium.

      Reply
    21. Anonymous

      at

      I prepared this yesterday for Tamil New Year and it came out very delicious!

      Reply
      • yuppie yuppie Recipes

        at

        Thank u for ur recipe....

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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