Monday, November 23, 2009

Uzhunnu Vada/ Medu Vada

   I love medu vada drenched in hot spicy sambar or dipped in thick coconut and chickpea chutney.  In fact, I can eat it without any accompaniments.  Love for this one goes way back.

  I guess we can call this the Indian doughnut being simimar in shape.  Its crispy ouside and soft inside can also be compared.  However, the comparisons ends here.  Medu vada is healthier having no sugar and the taste is as far different as all purpose flour is from black gram.   A snack served with breakfast in the morning and sometimes for evening tea, you will agree this is a popular snack with most Indian families.

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Ingredients:

Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
Onions    - chopped 2 tbspn
ginger - 1 tspn chopped
green chillies - 1 tspn chopped
curry leaves  - 1 sprig (leaves torn inot half and added)

Method:
1. Soak the dal for 2 to 3 hours
2. Clean and let the water drain off
3. Grind the dal to a smooth paste in a grinder or food processor without any water.  I use my wet mixer and it does not cooperate.  I confess I add a tad bit of water and then later add some rice powder to get them to hold.
4. Deep fry the vada in hot oil.  Make sure the oil is hot. Maintaining the right temperature is paramount here because if the oil is too hot the outside gets done and inside does not.  If its not hot enough the vada turns out to be hard.  Stay by the stove and wait for a while after you have added the oil in a hot pan and test by adding a drop of vada mix in.  If it rises instantly you know the oil is hot enough.  If you have a thermometer I would say 350 D F is probably the round about time to go by.

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1/2 cup urad dal yields small to medium sized eight vadas.  the chutney I enjoy the most is coconut, chana dal and coriander leaf all ground to a nice thick consistency.  I will update the chutney shortly for your convenience.

Contributor: Sunitha

32 comments:

  1. Sharikkum kothi vanittu vayya......Adipoli ayitundu...Looks crispy and yummy.

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  2. one of my the most favourites..

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  3. lovely medu vadas very tempting and one of my favourites.

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  4. vada looks so crispy and yummy...perfect eve snack with tea!

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  5. wow even at 11 pm in the night u make me crave for vadas.if u have given the choice of grabbing it from screen, my son will be the first one to grab it.
    nice click.

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  6. Crispy vadas...my family's fav.

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  7. Crisp and delicious snacks! I don't know about them, but they look so tempting to me!

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  8. I was on a mission during my recent trip to India ,eating vadas from a number of vegetarian restaurants.But nothing beats "The Pooti Hotels"!!!! Just thinking about them is torture:(( I will try this one out for sure!!!

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  9. Wow...those vadas looks so appetizing and tempting..feel like grabbing one of them right now :)

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  10. wow..this looks soo good. love to have a bite

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  11. oh my!they look crisp and delicious..ultimate side for a bfast with dosa and appam..

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  12. ohh..yummyy vada..looks very crispy and delicious..

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  13. I can never have enough of these...& u can not compare them with donuts, u can't eat more than one donut(it's like eating sugar only) but vada is different u can have as many...specially for breakfast...garam-a-garm....& served inside hand embroidered huck towels(right).

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  14. This is my hubby's all time fav :-)Am planning to try this soon and surprise him ;-)

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  15. I love vadai but use mung dal or lentils :)

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  16. Crispy and yummy vada! Perfect for snack time.

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  17. idli, vada and sambhar this is my fav option whenever i go to a south indian place for breakfast or snack! yours look awesome. and hey the chutney that u mentioned is how anand loves it too! waiting for your version!

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  18. vadas look very yummy!! Perfect to go with hot sambar...yummmmmmmy!!

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  19. Nice click and vada looks very crispy...

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  20. Look at it .. So crispy.. n just right for breakfast.

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  21. Nice clicks!!! Wanna grab that bowl now...OOh...Soo yummy!!!

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  22. wow looks damn tasy :)nice clicks

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  23. Vada sambaar...things that dominate my to-do list when in Kerala.I love it better than any other vadas.

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  24. Looks perfect dear.. This vada is my hubby's fav and whenever we go to a restaurant for breakfast, he closes his eyes and orders Pongal-Vada!!
    Loved the way u compared it with doughnut! ;)

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  25. Thank you guys.. for visiting our site and leaving your wonderful comments..

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  26. Dear sunitha
    I arrived late,
    Medu Vada , I love. I am going to buy a small and cute edge runner to grind Vada mix. I got so fade up with the mixi wet grinding ( good for dosa and Idli) , I buy from the market the thick dal paste.
    ( I have some in the fridge and have plans to make Medu vada tomorrow)
    have a nice time

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  27. These Indian donuts look and sound so delicious. I've tried them before and I loved it. I'll definitely give this recipe a try soon, thanks:)

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