Uzhunnu Vada/ Medu Vada

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   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.



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.


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