Madras Donuts ( Medu vada)

Hello everyone !!! This will be my second challenge in SNC  and am super excited .. As you all know there is an event going on  Divya pramils space YOU TOO CAN COOK .. The event is all abt two teams north and south team ..A member from north team and a member south team   will challenge the opposite team members and opposing teams have to post the same recipe on their Blog .. this takes place every month .. The idea of this event is that we learn so many different recipes from north and southern part of India .. Hats off to divya for this great idea .. click here to partcipate

An update on whats going on till now


Challenge 1- october month’s challenge


North team Host shruti dhingra from ” shruti’s rasoi”- Bhel puri
South team Host divya from “Divya’s culinary journey “- Mysore pak


WINNER
NORTH TEAM


Challenge 2- November month’s challenge


North team host Pallavi from “cook -eat- burrp” – Gulab jamun
South team host Yashodha from “yashodha’s kitchen” – Adhirasam


WINNER
 yet to be announced- fingers crossed 😛 Its like waiting for exam results ….uffff 


and now 


Challenge 3- December months challenge


North team Host Meena from ” Random rambling ” – Misal pav  click here
South team Host Sherin from ” Kuk’s kitchen” – Medu vada click here

Last challenge we made Adhirasam which was really tasty sweet.. It was tricky but tasty too 🙂 good thing is that this time we have a ” stater”  challenge  n not a sweet again …cheers north team !!! 🙂

As am from north team i had to prepare medu vada which is one of my favorite . Thanks to sherin for such an awesome recipe ..I loved to have sambhar idli and sambhar vada back in chennai , but didn’t think aboutt trying them on my own from scratch.. This is the first time i tried medu vada at home and wowwy zowwy it was much better than we get in restuarent .. i enjoyed while making this medu vada … especially when i shaped them .. it was so much fun for me and a big thanks to my hubby for waiting patiently till i took my pics :)..

Medu vada is a traditional favorite of south india that features not just in everyday cuisine but is also an indispensable part of the menu on festivals and puja days. Let look for the ingredients and method to prepare this delicious  stater …

Ingredients

1 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
5 to 6 black peppercorns (crushed)
8 to 10 curry leaves (kadi patta)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp roughly chopped ginger
1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
1 tbsp Rice ( optinal – if u like your medu vada a little crispier then do add )
Asafoetida  a pinch
salt to taste
oil for deep-frying (I used olive oil )

For Serving
coconut chutney
sambhar
Rasam

Method

Soak urad dal and rice for 2 hour at least . Drain water and keep aside (I drained the water completely and then sprinkle little by little while grinding in a blender , doing so you can be sure of the quantity of water).Now grind it to a fluffy textured batter sprinkling water now and then. Don’t add much water as the batter will become runny.NOTE:Grind the batter with just enough water to make a soft but not watery dough – as it is the consistency of the batter that determines how soft and shapely the vadas turn out, and of course how many compliments you reap! after all, ‘medu’ means soft, and the wadas must live up to the name..

Once the batter is ready, add chopped onions, jeera, pepper, curry leaves, chillies,asafoetida and required salt to the batter, mix well and keep aside. NOTE- don’t add salt will grinding  as your batter will go runny …

The batter should be thick.Heat oil in a kadai. Take a aluminium foil or cling rap or banana leaf slightly greased with a drop of oil. Wet your right hand, then make a small ball out of the batter and pat it on the banana leaf . Now make a hole in the middle and carefully transfer it to the kadai -This needs a lot of practice .. I felt using hand is  more comfortable than using a banana leaf or foil .. so used my hands to make the shape..

You can also make use of Donut maker which is  available in the market for perfect shape

Making vada Shapes using donut maker:

Fill the donut maker with batter. Hold it over the hot oil . Now with your thumb push down the lever/knob and the hole at the bottom of the donut maker opens to let the batter out. Keep your thumb pressed down for as long as you need – this depends on how big you want your vadas. The longer you hold the lever down, more batter comes out and vada becomes bigger. Hold the lever down for a short time to make smaller vada’s.

Pic Courtesy : Google

Fry the vadai in medium flame, turn over to other side once it becomes firm. Take out and drain it in a tissue once it becomes golden brown on both sides.

NOTE

• If you are grinding the dal in mixie or blender just like I did, the use pulse .
• For more quantity always use grinder else the heat generated while grinding in the mixie will not make the vada’s fluffy.
• Always grind the batter smoothly into a fine paste, the batter should resemble like a butter cream icing, else the vada’s will become hard and rubbery.Avoid adding excess water while grinding.
• If by any chance the batter turns runny just add a tbsp of rice flour.
• Check oil temperature before dropping the dumpling, sometimes if oil is too hot it might burn the vadai’s.
• Getting the perfect shape requires a little practice.. .But the basic trick is to wet the hands liberally and then hold the vadas to make the shape.
• Always add the salt after grinding it will make your batter runny if added while grinding ..
• Make the vada’s as soon as the batter is made, as they might absorb too much oil if left to ferment. Also,  don’t  forget the hole in the center which is what makes it medu wadas..
• Next important thing is fluffing up the batter. Beat the batter well with hand to incorporate air and make the batter fluffy. The fluffy batter gives softer vada. To test the fluffiness of batter, drop a portion of batter in a bowl of water and observe the batter. If the batter sinks then it is not fluffy enough and beat the batter for some time and test it .