Medu Vada (South Indian Dish)

Medu vadas are a traditional South Indian dish. It may be served for the main course, a snack or a side dish. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The vada is typically made with urad dal batter and fried as donut-shape dumplings. They are served with coconut chutney and sambar.

Soaking time: 5 hours
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients: (for about 16 vadas)

• 1-1/4 cups split washed urad dal
• Pinch of asafetida (hing)
• 3 to 4 green chili, chopped
• 2 tablespoon green coriander, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Oil to fry

Directions:

1. Wash and soak dal in water for about 4 to 5 hours. Drain the water and grind the dal in a food processor or a mixer to smooth paste consistency using very little water. Just enough to get the right texture. Blend an additional 2 to 3 minutes more to make it fluffy.
2. Add all the ingredients to the dal batter including coriander leaves, green chili, hing and salt. Beat the batter for 2 to 3 minutes. This will make the batter light and fluffy.
3. To check the consistency, put the one drop of batter in a bowl of water. The batter should float. Keeping the right consistency of batter is very important
4. When you put the batter on your palm, the batter should hold it's shape. If you are not using the batter right away, keep the batter refrigerated (as the batter sitting will get soft).
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. The frying pan should have about 1 inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in the oil. The batter should sizzle and come up.
6. If the oil is very hot, the vadas will not cook through and will not be crispy.
7. Wet your palms and take a golf size batter and place over your palm. Flatten to a round shape and make a hole in the center with the other hand. Slowly slide the vada into the oil pan.
8. Fry the vadas on both sides to golden brown. Take them out over a paper towel to drain excess oil.
9. Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar. ( check my recipes for coconut chutney and sambar)

Medu vadas

Coconut chutney 

Sambar