About Maddur Vada
Maddur Vada is one of the popular teatime snacks across South India. Its origin is claimed to be in the small town of Karnataka called Maddur in the Mandya district. This town is located somewhere between Bengaluru and Mysore the two most fundamental cities of the state of Karnataka. If you ever travel via train between Bengaluru and Mysore, Maddur Vada is a common street food you will find across all the railway stations and on street carts. This masala vada is made with – two types of flour (rice and all-purpose), semolina (rava), onion, salt, and spices. It has a crispy, crunchy exterior and a mouth-melting texture underneath. Medu Vada is a spicy and savory doughnut shape like fritter made with urad dal, onion, spices, and seasoning. The word ‘medu’ in the Tamil language means soft and the ‘vada’ is the word for deep-fried fritters. Hence, it is called a soft deep-fried fritter (medu vada). Whereas, Maddur Vada has its origin in Karnataka and it is not made with dal batter. However, both are a variety of deep-fried, vegetarian South Indian Vada often enjoyed as breakfast or teatime snacks.
Watch Vada Video
Serving Suggestion
Usually, maddur vada is served as a teatime snack with a cup of masala tea or filter coffee. Here are two of my favorite side dishes to accompany masala vada: Green Mint Chutney Coconut Chutney
My Tried & True Tips
Semolina: No need to use roasted semolina (rava) for this vada recipe. Fine to medium texture, non-roasted rava (suji) is perfect. Water: While binding the dough for maddur vada, make sure to add water in small batches (¼ cup at a time) to bind a non-sticky dough. Thickness: Do not shape the vada too thick. They are slightly thicker than a mathri or thattai or nipattu. A thick vada will not turn crisp. Frying: An authentic South Indian maddur vada is always deep-fried. Make sure the oil is preheated to the right temperature before frying the vada. Otherwise, the vada will absorb too much oil while deep-frying.
More Indian Snack Recipes
Peanut Chaat Khasta Kachori Sabudana Vada Aloo Tikki Chaat Vegetable Cutlet Instant Rava Paniyaram Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us on Instagram for video recipes.
