Crispy Ulundhu Vadai (Urad Dal Vada)

Recipe sourced: savithakitchen.blogspot.my

Ingredients:

1 cup Urad Dal

1 tbsp Rice

1 tsp Rava (Semolina)

4 nos. Green Chilies

1/2" Ginger

1/2 Big Onion

Curry Leaves

Cilantro

Method:

Wash and soak urad dal for 1 hour.

Chop onion, 2 green chilies, curry leaves and cilantro.

Grind urad dal, rice, ginger and remaining 2 nos. green chilies into a fine batter. 

Try to add little water while grinding.

Transfer the batter into a bowl and mix it well, until it gives out bubbles.

This mixing makes the batter fluffy.

Add the chopped onion, green chilies, curry leaves and cilantro into the batter.

As this point, add rava to the batter.  This rave makes the vadai retain its crispness.

Heat oil in a pan.

Wet your hand and place a ball of batter and pat it.

Slowly drop it in oil,

Fry the vadai in hot oil.

Take the vadai out and wipe it off with tissue.

Serve with chutney or sambar.

Vadai will retain its crispness for at least 2 to 3 hours

Tips to make crispy & perfectly shaped medu vadas (sourced www.rediff.com, youtoocancook.net, Vahchef's site and manjulaskitchen ):

Soak urad dal for minimum 2 hours before grinding it in the mixer grinder.

Then while grinding add little water every 2-3 spins and keep wiping the sides of grinder with a spatula.  Batter should be non sticky when you touch it by dipping your hands in water.

Keep the batter covered in refrigerator till use.  Add salt and onions only before frying the vada.  Beat the batter before frying to provide aeration which is very important to get crispy light vadas.  Then add other spices.

Don't add salt while grinding, you should add the salt just before frying the vada.

Make sure that vada batter should be hard enough to hold because if the batter is too light vada will absorb more oil.

To make them super crispy add1 tsp of rice flour or semolina flour (rava) to the batter.  If you grind vada batter properly, then no need to add rice flour or toor dal, vada will come out super crispy by itself.

To check the vada formation just drop a small spoonful batter in a bowl of water, it should float to some extent.  Also when you try to drop the batter it should form a stiff peak.

For beginners, shaping the vadas on the greased plastic cover is the easiest.  Grease a plastic sheet with oil.

Take a bowl of water wet your hands and place a portion of dough on plastic.

Now make a hole in centre and shape it in form of round vada.  In case you are not able to make a hole then your batter consistency is water and thereby it will be runny and sticky.

Transfer vada on your wet palm and slide vada carefully in oil as oil may splash.

Deep fry with medium heat till both the sides are brown.  Frying pan should have about 1" of oil, check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in oil.  The batter should sizzle and come up but not change colour right away.  If oil is very hot vads will not cook through and will not be crispy.

To keep the vada crispy for hours, just pre-heat the oven in the least temperature and place your vadas in a tray inside the oven, by this way vada stays crispy.