Medhu Vadai is one of the popular snack in Tamil Nadu made using Urad Dhal (Ulundhu). It's a great and tasty appetizer. We usually make this vadai for most of the festivals for neyvedhyam (offering to the god). Medhu vadai with idli, pongal, sambar & Chutney is a famous breakfast combo in Southern Part of India. Almost all restaurants serve this vada for breakfast and also during evening snacks time. Making a perfect batter is the secret of this recipe. The batter should be thick and also fluffy then only the vadas will be crispier outside and soft inside. For normal snacks, we can also add chopped onions that will enhance the taste. But for Neivedhyam we don't add onions.
Tips for making Medhu Vada:
- Soaking Urad Dhal : Use whole urad dal for this recipe. Soak overnight or atleast for 3 hours. More soaking helps the dal to grind properly to smooth batter with less water.
- Flavor of Ginger and Chili : While grinding the dal, we can add green chili and ginger. If not we can grind the green chili+ginger separately and then add the pulp. Or we can add later to the vada batter once its ready.
- Batter consistency : Check if the batter is in right consistency. If we drop a pinch of batter in water, it should float it in water. If the batter gets sunk, then we need to grind it more with little more water as the batter is more dense. More dense the batter, hard will be the vadas'. So vada batter should be smooth at the same time little thicker, lighter and soft. If we are grinding the batter in mixer grinder, then take out the smooth vada batter and beat it nicely for 3-5 minutes using a whisk or ladle. This will aerate the batter. This step is very important when you grind it with mixer grinder instead of wet grinder. Natural aeration is not possible with mixer grinder.
- Adding chopped Onions : If we are making this vada as a regular evening snack and not as a prasad, we can add chopped onions to the batter.
- Shaping the Vada : Shaping the vada can be done using our palm, zipper or banana leaf. If you are using a banana leaf or zipper, grease it with little oil and then place the lemon sized batter in the middle, make a hole in the center and then gently remove and add it to the oil. If you are comfortable using palm, then damp the palm with water, place the batter in the middle, make a hole in the center and using other hand drop the vada gently in the oil.
- Fry in Medium/low flame : While frying vada in oil, make sure the oil is ready first and then drop the vada. Once the vada is added to oil, keep the flame low and then fry patiently, flipping the vada back and forth to make sure its fried evenly and turned golden brown.
You may also want to try:
- Paruppu Vadai, a traditional neivedhyam (Offering to God) recipe that we usually prepare for any auspicious occasions or festivals.
- Masala Vada is a crispy and crunchy vada made with Bengal Gram (Chana dal / Kadalaparuppu) as the main ingreident along with aroma rich spices. The spices we add really brings a nice flavor and makes us to have more and more of this vada.
- Tirupati Vada is a very scrumptious vada made with whole black urad dal, pepper and salt. This vada is thin, crispy and tasty vada.
Ulundhu Vadai | Medhu vadai | Urad Dal Vada
Equipments Needed
- Heavy Bottomed Pan
- Mixer Grinder
Servings: 15 Vadai
Calories: 343kcal
Medhu Vadai, is a crispy and yummy vadai made using urad dal as the main ingredient and other indian spices. We have a tradition to make this Medhuvadai as a Prasad for many occasions and festivals
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Urad Dal 1 Cup - 250ml
- 2 tablespoon Raw Rice
- 4 nos Green Chili
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Salt (adjust to your taste)
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 2 tablespoon Coriander Leaves Finely chopped
- 2 Cups Oil For Deep Frying
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash th dal and rice thoroughly twice or thrice and drain the rinsed water. Soak the Ulundhu(Urad Dal) and rice in water for 3 hours.
Grinding the Dal
- After 3 hours, drain water from the soaked dal. Add the urad dal to the wet grinder. Now add chopped green chili and ginger to the wet grinder.
- Add handful of water and start grinding the dal. If the grinder is not running, sprinkle some more water. In regular intervals scrape the batter from the sides so the dal gets ground to a smooth batter. If needed, add 1-2 tablespoon of water only if it is completely necessary.
How to check the right consistency of the dough ?
- If we drop a pinch of batter in water, it should float it in water. If the batter gets sunk, then we need to grind it more. This is the right stage to remove from the grinder. If we are grinding in mixer, then take out the smooth vada batter and beat it nicely for 3-5 minutes using a whisk or ladle. This will aerate the batter. This step is very important when you grind it with mixer grinder instead of wet grinder.
- Now take the vada batter in a bowl. Add salt, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Give a good mix. Now our Vada Batter is ready!
Frying the Vadai
- Now Heat the oil in pan and once the oil is hot, add a little amount of flour to check for the readiness of oil. If the flour comes up right way, then the oil is ready.
- In a banana leaf or small plastic cover or your palm, add lemon size of vada mixture and make small hole in the middle. Now gently drop the shaped vada in the oil. I normally damp my palm with water, shape the vada and drop in hot oil.
- Add 4-5 vada to oil. Keep the flame very low and fry the vada. Flip the vadai to other side to cook properly in both sides.
- Once the vadai becomes golden brown color, remove from flame and place it on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat the same for rest of the vada batter.
Serving Time
- The yummy Medhu vada is ready to serve / ready for serving or for offering as prasad.
Video
Notes
- Soaking Urad Dhal : Use whole urad dal for this recipe. Soak overnight or atleast for 3 hours. More soaking helps the dal to grind properly to smooth batter with less water.
- Flavor of Ginger and Chili : While grinding the dal, we can add green chili and ginger. If not we can grind the green chili+ginger separately and then add the pulp. Or we can add later to the vada batter once its ready.
- Batter consistency : Check if the batter is in right consistency. If we drop a pinch of batter in water, it should float it in water. If the batter gets sunk, then we need to grind it more with little more water as the batter is more dense. More dense the batter, hard will be the vadas'. So vada batter should be smooth at the same time little thicker, lighter and soft. If we are grinding the batter in mixer grinder, then take out the smooth vada batter and beat it nicely for 3-5 minutes using a whisk or ladle. This will aerate the batter. This step is very important when you grind it with mixer grinder instead of wet grinder. Natural aeration is not possible with mixer grinder.
- Adding chopped Onions : If we are making this vada as a regular evening snack and not as a prasad, we can add chopped onions to the batter.
- Shaping the Vada : Shaping the vada can be done using our palm, zipper or banana leaf. If you are using a banana leaf or zipper, grease it with little oil and then place the lemon sized batter in the middle, make a hole in the center and then gently remove and add it to the oil. If you are comfortable using palm, then damp the palm with water, place the batter in the middle, make a hole in the center and using other hand drop the vada gently in the oil.
- Fry in Medium/low flame : While frying vada in oil, make sure the oil is ready first and then drop the vada. Once the vada is added to oil, keep the flame low and then fry patiently, flipping the vada back and forth to make sure its fried evenly and turned golden brown.
Nutritional Info
Nutrition Facts
Ulundhu Vadai | Medhu vadai | Urad Dal Vada
Amount Per Serving (2 Vada)
Calories 343
Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Carbohydrates 43g14%
Protein 14g28%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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INSTRUCTIONS WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES:
PREPARATION
- Wash th dal and rice thoroughly twice or thrice and drain the rinsed water. Soak the Ulundhu(Urad Dal) and rice in water for 3 hours.
GRINDING THE DAL
- After 3 hours, drain water from the soaked dal. Add the urad dal to the wet grinder. Now add chopped green chili and ginger to the wet grinder.
- Add handful of water and start grinding the dal. If the grinder is not running, sprinkle some more water. In regular intervals scrape the batter from the sides so the dal gets ground to a smooth batter. If needed, add 1-2 tablespoon of water only if it is completely necessary.
HOW TO CHECK THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY OF THE DOUGH ?
- If we drop a pinch of batter in water, it should float it in water. If the batter gets sunk, then we need to grind it more. This is the right stage to remove from the grinder. If we are grinding in mixer, then take out the smooth vada batter and beat it nicely for 3-5 minutes using a whisk or ladle. This will aerate the batter. This step is very important when you grind it with mixer grinder instead of wet grinder.
- Now take the vada batter in a bowl. Add salt, curry leaves and coriander leaves.
- Give a good mix. Now our Vada Batter is ready!
FRYING THE VADAI
- Now Heat the oil in pan and once the oil is hot, add a little amount of flour to check for the readiness of oil. If the flour comes up right way, then the oil is ready.
- In a banana leaf or small plastic cover or your palm, add lemon size of vada mixture and make small hole in the middle. Now gently drop the shaped vada in the oil. I normally damp my palm with water, shape the vada and drop in hot oil.
- Add 4-5 vada to oil.
- Keep the flame very low and fry the vada. Flip the vadai to other side to cook properly in both sides.
- Once the vadai becomes golden brown color, remove from flame and place it on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat the same for rest of the vada batter.
SERVING TIME
- The yummy Medhu vada is ready to serve / ready for serving or for offering as prasad.
