A traditional South Indian Fried Snack: Uzhunnu Vada or Medu Vada
 
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Uzhunnu Vada or Medu Vada
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • Urad dal or skinned black gram - 1 cup
  • Shallots or small onions, minced- ¼ cup
  • Ginger, minced- 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves, chopped- 1 sprig
  • Whole black peppercorns- ½ tsp
  • Green chilies, chopped- 1 or 2
  • Salt- 1 tsp
  • Water- ¼ to ½ cup
  • Coconut oil- enough for deep frying
Instructions
  1. Soak the urad dal in water for at least 4 hours, after that take the soaked urad dal in a strainer & rinse it in water till the water turns clear.
  2. Grind the soaked urad dal in a food processor or grinder to a slightly coarse paste. Don't make it into a fine paste.
  3. Add water little by little while grinding the urad dal. I added ½ cup of water. The batter should be thick and smooth.
  4. Pour the batter into a large bowl, and using your clean hand beat the batter well for a minute. This will aerate the batter & will make the vadas fluffy.
  5. Add the minced shallots or small onions, ginger, curry leaves, green chilies, whole peppercorns and salt, combine well.
  6. Keep the batter in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  7. Have a plastic small ziploc bag or a cling wrap ready.
  8. Grease the surface of the plastic bag with little oil. This will prevent the batter from sticking to the surface.
  9. Place a handful of batter on it and make a round shape.
  10. Put a hole using your index finger and shape up the sides to a round shape.
  11. To a frying pan, add oil. I've added Coconut oil.
  12. When the oil has heated well, gently peel off the batter from the plastic sheet and carefully slide it into the oil.
  13. Be very careful while putting the batter into the oil, don't just throw it into the oil as the oil will splash.
  14. Don't overcrowd the vadas while frying as it will deform its round shape.
  15. Fry the vadas flipping over both sides until they turn golden in color.
  16. Transfer the vadas to a kitchen paper towel.
  17. The vadas will be super fluffy & soft.
  18. Enjoy while it's hot with chutney or coconut chammanthi.
Recipe by Cooking with Thas - Wholesome Homemade Recipes at https://thasneen.com/cooking/medu-vada-easy-tips-to-make-crispy-medu-vada-gluten-free-indian-snack-traditional-south-indian-fried-snack-uzhunnu-vada-or-medu-vada/