Medhu Vadai / Ulundu Vadai is a traditional South Indian dish which can be had as a breakfast, snack or even as an accompaniment to lunch. Medhu Vadai is an Indian fritter made with black lentil/urad dal. It is made in the shape of a doughnut with crispy out and soft in.
Medhu Vadai is my hubbies favorite. So very often used to make this. I am not very much fond of this vada. I love crispy Masala Vada. You can find it in my first post. Medhu vadai is made by soaking black lentil for an hour and ground to smooth paste.
The steps that should be taken care to make the best Medhu Vadai:
Add a tbsp of water at a time to grind the dal. Use whipper mode in the mixer while grinding to smooth paste. For one cup urad dal, add only 3-4 tbsps of water. The consistency should be neither too thick nor watery. Once the batter is made, if its thick add a little water or else if the batter is watery and does not hold shape add a tbsp of rice flour to thicken it. Do not add too much rice flour too. It makes vada hard. For each and every vada wet your hands with water so that you can shape it easily and slide vada into oil. We usually make vada in a single hand. You can even pat vada in banana leaf or over your palm.
Video of Medhu Vadai. Subscribe for more video.
Medhu Vadai can be had with Onion Sambar, Coconut Chutney, Paruppu Rasam or with curd. It pairs well with all of the above. Now let us see how to prepare this snack/appetizer.
- 1 Cup Urad Dal/Uluttam Paruppu whole white
- 2 tbsp Rice flour (optional)
- 1 Onion or 10 sambar onion
- 3 Green chilies
- 1 tsp Whole Pepper
- 1 tbsp Curry leaves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Coriander leaves finely chopped
- salt to taste
- oil to deep fry
- Soak Urad dal in water for one hour. Then wash the dal thoroughly and set aside. Finely chop the onion, green chilies, coriander leaves, and curry leaves.
- Drain the water and grind dal to smooth paste by adding a tbsp of water at a time. For the entire urad dal, it needs only 3 to 4 tbsps of water. I ground urad dal in two batches using a mixer. Use whipper mode in the mixer to grind the batter to smooth paste.
- In a wide bowl, add ground urad dal paste, onion, green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves and salt to taste. Mix it thoroughly. The consistency should be neither too thick nor watery. If the batter is thick add a little water or else if the batter is watery and does not hold shape add a tbsp of rice flour to thicken it. If grounded properly it is not necessary to add rice flour at all.
- Heat a Kadai with enough oil to deep fry. Once oil gets heated, add a drop of batter. If it raises immediately then oil is ready, but the color of the batter should not change immediately. Wet your hand with water, take a ball size batter in your hand, flatten it and make a hole in the middle using the thumb and gently slide it into the oil.
- Do not over crowd vadas. Deep fry vada in medium flame until golden brown. Flip once to fry on the other side. Remove and drain it on a kitchen towel. Vada is ready. You can relish it with sambar, chutney or with curd.
- Soak urad dal / black lentil at least for an hour.
- Add a tbsp of water at a time to grind the dal.
- Use whipper mode in the mixer while grinding to smooth paste.
- The consistency should be neither too thick nor watery. If the batter is thick add a little water or else if the batter is watery and does not hold shape add a tbsp of rice flour to thicken it.
- For each and every vada wet your hands with water, so that you can shape it and easily slide vada into oil.
- Also, add 4 to 5 vadas at a time. Do not overcrowd.
- You can even add chopped ginger for more flavor. Some even add hing and chopped coconut bits.
You might also like Chickpea Masala Vada.
Crispy out Soft in Medhu Vadai is ready to relish.
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