Medu Vada

A delicious savoury from south India, which somewhat looks like a doughnutJ.  Made from white lentil, known as urad dal in India, it is a very popular, wholesome snack and is enjoyed best with coconut chutney or sambhar…    

Health Check – A one-cup of urad dal serving contains 189 calories, 13 grams of protein, and 12 grams of fiber (about half a day's worth) and one gram of fat. It is very nutritious and is recommended for diabetics, as are other pulses. Though very beneficial in limited quantities, excessive intake causes flatulence, which some sources claim can be prevented by adding a little asafoetida, pepper and ginger in the culinary preparations. 

Ingredients

1 cup white lentil/urad daal (makes 7-8 vadas)

2-3 chopped green chillies

Pinch of asafetida

1 teaspoon grated ginger

Chopped coriander leaves/cilantro

5-6 curry leaves

½ teaspoon black pepper

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Ingredients (Sambhar)

1 Cup toor daal (serves 2-3 people)

1 medium sized chopped onion

2 medium sized chopped tomatoes

2 green chillies cut into long pieces

1 tablespoon Ginger, Garlic Paste

3-4 curry leaves

Salt to taste

7-8 mustard seeds

7-8 cumin seeds

Pinch of asafoetida

Pinch of turmeric powder

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon sambhar masala (optional)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Chopped coriander for garnishing

2 tablespoon oil

Cooking Method (For Medu Vada)

1. Soak the urad dal (white lentil), adding 2 cups of water, for at least 6 hours, prior to cooking.

2. Drain water from the dal and grind it in a mixer to make a fine paste. Add very little water, if required, when grinding. 

3. In a mixing bowl pour the batter and add salt, black pepper, chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves, cumin powder, asafoetida, chopped green chillies and mix well. Blend the batter nicely, for atleast five minutes, using your hands. This will help the vadas turn fluffy. 

4. Check if the batter is ready perfectly. You can do so by putting a small portion in a bowl full of water. If the portion floats over the water, then it means the batter is ready to be made into vadas. 

5. Heat oil in a deep pan/kadai. 

6. Now, wet your palms and take some batter into the palms. Shape it into a ball and make a hole with the thumb in the centre like a doughnut. Deep-fry this in medium hot oil until golden brown and crisp. Repeat the procedure for the rest of the vadas. 

7. Drain oil from vadas, placing them on a oil soaking paper. 

8. Serve the delicious hot Medu Vadas with sambhar or any chutney.

Cooking Method (For Sambhar)

1. Soak the toor daal for at least 1 hour prior to cooking. (If you don’t have toor daal available at home, you can also use red lentil as an alternative)

2. Put the soaked daal to boil in a pressure cooker adding 2 cups of water, salt and pinch of turmeric powder.  Boil the daal for about 15 minutes. Simmer the cooking stove after first whistle. 

3. For the tadka – Add 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan. 

4. Once the oil gets heated, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. 

5. As the mustard and cumin seeds start popping add a pinch of asafoetida. 

6. Now add the ginger and garlic paste and stir fry about a minute. Then add the green chillies. 

7. Add the chopped onions and stir fry until light brown in color. 

8. Now add all the spices to the onions – red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder and sambhar masala and stir fry. Add some water to avoid the spices getting burned.

9. Add the chopped tomatoes to the onion and spices and let it cook for about 5 minutes on medium flame until it begins to leave some oil. 

10. Now mix the boiled toor daal to the gravy and stir well. 

11. Let the daal cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium flame. 

12. Finally add the lemon juice and chopped coriander for garnishing.

13. Your sambhar is now ready to be served.