Medu Vada Recipe (Ulundu Vadai, Garelu)
Medu Vada Recipe, Indian crispy doughnut shaped dal fritters. Most popular South Indian snack made with whole urad dal which is soaked and ground into a batter. Vada batter is flavoured with onions, chillies, curry leaves, ginger and asafoetida. It is shaped and fried which turn out crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Serve it with coconut chutney or make Sambar vada, you are in for a treat.
Equipment
Blender
Deep Frying Pot
Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups Whole Urad Dal
- 1 large Onion finely chopped
- 3 Green Chilli finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ginger finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Asafoetida
- Curry leaves finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Medu Vada Batter Grinding - Soak Urad dal for 2 to 3 hours. Now drain it and add it to a blender. If you have small blender jar grind it in two batches. Make sure that you drain your dal properly. Vada batter shouldn’t have too much liquid else the batter will get loose and runny. Add few teaspoon of water when grinding Urad dal. Don’t add too much water.
- The batter has to be thick. Grind the urad dal till it is completely ground. It will take around 2 mins. Make sure you scrape the batter in-between using a spatula for even grinding. Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl.
- Fluffy Vada Batter - Now you have to incorporate air into the batter to lighten it. Use a wooden spoon or a whisk to whip some air into the batter. It will take around 5 to 8 mins.
- You can use your hands to whip some air into the batter. The more you whip your batter the more airy your medu vada batter becomes. This will give you crisp and soft vada.
- Vada Batter Preparation- Mean while prepare the vegetables which we are going to add into the batter. You have to finely chop onions, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves.
- You could even add finely chopped carrots and coriander leaves. Add this vegetables along with salt, asafoetida into the batter and mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and set aside.
- Heat oil - Now heat oil for deep frying. You can use refined oil, ground nut oil, vegetable oil for frying. Let the oil heat well before you drop the vadai in.
- Shaping of vada - Dip your slotted spoon in water. Shake off any excess water. Wet your hands with water. Take small portion of batter in your hands.Place it on the slotted spoon. make hole in the centre. Drop the vada in hot oil using the spoon. The vada will slide into the oil since we have made the batter thick.
- Frying Medu Vada - Fry the vada on medium to high heat till it gets golden and crispy. Keep cooking flipping often using a skewer or a steel rod. Fry till golden and crispy. Drain and serve hot with chutney.
Video
Notes
- Adding pinch of baking soda helps in crispy medu vada.
- Soak urad dal in hot water. Hot water reduces the soaking time.
- Don't add too much water when grinding the batter. Just sprinkle water when grinding.
- Soak urad dal for 2 to 3 hours. Don't over soak else it may affect the texture.
- Grind vada batter in wet grinder will give you more thicker batter.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Medu Vada Recipe (Ulundu Vadai, Garelu)
Serving Size
1 vada
Amount per Serving
Calories
66
% Daily Value*
Fat
0.2
g
0
%
Saturated Fat
0.01
g
0
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
0.003
g
Monounsaturated Fat
0.002
g
Sodium
24
mg
1
%
Potassium
13
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
11
g
4
%
Fiber
4
g
17
%
Sugar
1
g
1
%
Protein
5
g
10
%
Vitamin A
1
IU
0
%
Vitamin C
2
mg
2
%
Calcium
14
mg
1
%
Iron
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.