Vada/Gareelu/Medhu vada

Vada is a traditional South Indian food which is shaped like a doughnut but doesnt taste like it,rather it is spicy.Dont ever think about calories when you want to enjoy vada's ,usally i make it only during festivals but last time i made these for Diwali gettogether and everyone liked the vada's so much that they were finished in few minutes.So here am sharing the recipe.

Ingredients :

Urad dal - 2 cups
Medium sized onions(chopped) - 2 nos
Green chillies(chopped) - 5 nos
Corainder leaves (chopped)
Salt - 2 tsp
Baking Soda - 3 pinches
Oil - To deep fry

makes approx 25-30 vadas
For two people 1 cup of Urad dal is sufficient accordingly reduce the other ingredients quantity.



Preparation :

Soak 2 cups of urad dal with enough water alteast for 6-8hrs , i usally soak it overnight if am preparing it for next day Morning. (pic 2 & pic 3)


Method :

Part 1 : ( preparing the batter )

1. Clean the soaked urad dal with fresh water and drain the water completely. (pic 3)

2. Now grind the urad dal in 2 batches ,no need to make it as a smooth paste ...here n there if you can feel urad dal that consistency will also do if you dont like to get dal pieces as surprise while you are relising the vada then grind the urad dal as much as possible .

3. If you feel it is not grinding properly then add 1 tsp salt and then try to grind again
( adding salt makes the batter to oose out little water ) if still the blades are not moving then add little water (may be 2 table spoons ) .

4. Add water very carefully ...little by little (if the batter is runny then your vadas dont turn up as it should be )

5. Add the remaining 1 tsp of salt to the batter also add chopped onions, chopped green chillies,chopped corainder, 3 pinches baking soda and mix well if you feel the batter is too tight add little water(dont add too much) (pic 4 & pic 5).



6. You can refer vah chef's video HEREto check how the consistency of the batter should be ?

7. Taste the batter if you feel the salt is less add according to your taste,if you cannot make out the taste ...after you fry your first vada taste and then add more salt accordingly.

Part 2 : (making the vada)


1. Heat oil for deep fry in a wide kadai.

2. Take a zip lock bag or a plastic sheet grease it with oil on one side ..this we will use it as a platform to make the vadas . (you can also make vada's on hand as shown by vah chef...which ever is convinient )(pic 5)

3. Also keep a bowl of water nearby...(pic 5)

4 .Check if the oil is heated by dropping a small drop of batter if it raises quickly then the oil temp is good enough for our frying.

5. Now take a dollop of batter place it on the greased ziplock bag try to make a flat round shape on it if the batter is sticking to your hand dip your hand in the water bowl and again try to make the shape...

6. Now lift the ziplock bag with your left hand carefully invert it onto your right hand plam and try to gently release the vada from the ziplock bag ...try to follow this video HERE on how to drop the vada into the oil.(from 2:50min)

7. drop it very carefully...if yours hands are watery it easily slips into the oil so be sure to dip your hands before dropping each vada.

8. Fry until golden brown,remove them with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel which is placed on a big plate.

Thats it....enjoy the hot vadas with any chutney of your choice we even have it with chicken curry it tastes heavenly...
today i prepared tomato chutney ,uploaded the recipe do check it out.

Tomato chutney

Ingredients :

Medium size tomatos(chopped) - 4 nos
Tamarind - lemon size
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - to taste
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
Corainder leaves (chopped)
oil - for tadka (popu or seasoning)

Method :

1 . Add approx 1 tbsp oil to a pan, after it gets heated
add cumin seeds ,urad dal after they splutter add tamarind
2 . Saute it for a while,till tamarind becomes soft
3 . Then add tomato pieces and keep the lid after few mins the tomato pieces gets cooked
4 . Then add salt , red chilli powder , corainder leaves after a min switch of the flame
5 . Let it cool down completely and grind them in mixie/ blender to a smooth paste
6 . Thats it ...enjoy it taste good with vada,dosa,idli .


Modifications you can make :
1 . i add more than 1 tbsp cumin seeds as my hubby likes the cumin flavour so depending upon
your taste you can modify the recipe.
2 . i add chopped onions after the tadka ..after they get cooked i add chopped tomato pieces and
the rest recipe is the same .
3 . I omit tomatoes completly and just make it with onion then i skip tamarind and corainder
the rest ingredients are same .