Skip to main content

Uzhunnu Vada / Medu Vada

Vada is a generic, common name given across India, to a round shaped fritter fried in oil. Vada's can be made of either different lentils, gram flour or even potatoes. It differs in size too according to different cuisines. Its a perfect savoury tiffin enjoyed & relished by everyone. Its crispy on the outside and soft & fluffy inside...mmmm...

I made "Uzhunnu Vada" today for my breakfast. Uzhunnu in malayalam is Urad Dal/ Black gram. Uzhunnu Vada is the Indian cousin of the Western DOUGH NUTS! Probably because of its similar looks!! Medhu Vada has become so popular now that it is now treated as a street food in India. I was missing my "Annapoorna Sambar Vada" of Coimbatore that today I ended up making some. My Vadas have not come out perfectly round but who cares, taste is all that matters. :)

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups urad dal (split black gram)
  • 1 large onion (finely chopped)
  • 3-4 green chillies (finely chopped)
  • 15-20 peppercorns
  • 2 inch ginger (optional, finely chopped)
  • few curry leaves (optional, finely chopped)
  • salt to taste
  • oil for deep frying
Method:
  1. Soak the urad dal in water for at least 5-6 hours. I soak the dal overnight to make the vadas for breakfast.
  2. Drain it and grind the dal to make a paste. Use very little water to grind the dal. The paste should not be watery but so thick that when you take a spoonful of the dal paste and invert the spoon, the paste should fall off with a plop sound!
  3. Now add the chopped onion, green chillies, peppercorns, curry leaves, chopped ginger and salt to the paste and mix everything together with your hand. Use your hand instead of the spoon so that the air traps inside the dal paste to make the vadas fluffy and soft.
  4. Heat oil in a Kadhai for deep frying the vadas.
  5. Now is the tricky part. Dab your fingers in a little oil and take a portion of the dal paste with your four fingers as shown in the picture below.
  6. Now with your thumb make a hole in the middle of the paste and invert the paste in the hot oil. (MIND THE HOT OIL)
  7. Fry the vadas until they turn light golden on all sides.
  8. Serve the hot Vadas with some hot Sambar. You can immerse the Vadas inside the sambar and oh...I can't even explain what the feeling is when you put those hot Vadas in your mouth!

PS: To see the recipe of "Sambar", please click on to the "Kerala Sadya" category of this blog!! ENJOY!!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Nik10 May 2011 at 20:47

    Ooh la la! Mouth watering!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loveandcalories11 May 2011 at 09:42

    Thanks Nik!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amila10 June 2011 at 14:28

    oh yummy!!! I tried to make this once few mths ago.But couldnt get the nice appearence.Now I want to try again...
    (Amy from Food corner)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hundred Thousand Dollar worth Rava Upma (Indian Semolina Polenta)

Now you must be thinking, who doesn't know to make Rava Upma? What is so special about it? Every 5th person residing in India knows to make it and is a common breakfast item in almost all the Indian household. We Indians take this dish for granted. Well up until a week back, even I thought the same about this dish and looked down on Rava Upma. Not anymore. Last week I read a news about an Indian born, New York Chef Floyd Cardoz who won the top prize of £100,000 in an American show called "Top Chef Masters". No prize for guessing, he made RAVA UPMA!! After reading the article, I immediately decided that the recipe of a basic version of Upma must be on my blog. And here I am sharing the if not a "million dollar", then atleast a "hundred thousand dollar worth Upma Recipe". :) Upma is a popular South Indian Breakfast dish, mainly prepared by Semolina. It has a great resemblance with the Italian Polenta. It can be made with many variations by adding vegeta
13 comments
Read more

Lemon Hummus and Baba ghanoush

Fresh, hearty and wholesome are the three words that comes to my mind when I think of Mediterranean cuisine. Be it the region’s meal in a bowl vegetable or fish soups, juicy Kebabs, fried falafel, craggy pieces of toasted Bruschetta with yummy toppings, Batata Bravas, wedges of tortilla, or any combination of fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meat, fruit, yoghurt and oils, Mediterranean food  is just brilliant.   Equally tasty are their spread of small tasty dishes served as a starter while waiting for the rest of the meal. No matter how simple or elaborate, these tasty appetisers always hit the spot.  I am going to share the recipes of two of the many popular Mezze dishes that you can whip up in no time at home, for your quick and light dinner. One is the lusciously creamy “Hummus” that would beg you to be scooped up on to your warmed pitta breads (please don’t bother making  pitta!!) and the second dish is Baba Ganoush, a healthier option to Hummus. Baba Ghanoush is made of ro
Post a Comment
Read more

Hara Kebab (Green Kebab)

My honest confession, when you start a food blog, there is no looking back. You just carry on cooking & cooking & cooking. The pressure is so much to cook good, versatile & different food every time. Especially when guests come home & if they are aware of your food blog, then you need to match or rather excel their expectations. My best friend came home this weekend & we had a great time together gossiping, shopping & of course eating glorious food. She is a hard core vegetarian, hence my cooking skills were put to test as I said before. So I ended up making delicious Hara Kebab for her. Kebab is often the grilled or roasted skewered meat which we all talk about. So I thought, why not make it vegetarian & give my friend a surprise. "yeah, Baby...eat those Kebabs right now"...Don't worry...Its vegetarian! ;) Also I came across a "spinach event" which is going on in one of the blogger's space, so I thought, why not make my first
6 comments
Read more