What is ‘Medu Vada’?
Medu Vada is a spicy and savoury doughnut shape like fritter made with urad dal, onion, spices, and seasoning. The word ‘medu’ in Tamil means soft, and the ‘vada’ is the word for deep-fried fritter. Hence, it is called a soft deep-fried fritter (medu vada). In South India and Sri Lanka, medu vada, along with idli, dosa, sambar, and chutney, is the most popular vegetarian breakfast dish.
Types of Vada
Probably you might be confused between medu vada, maddur vada, and dal vada. All of these are a different variety of vada (fritters).
The distinguishing characteristic of the medu vada is its doughnut-like shape with a hole in the centre.
The Kumaoni Vada (Bada) is similar to the medu vada. The only difference between the two is – the former is prepared with split black urad dal (chilka urad) while the South Indian vada is prepared with skinned urad dal.
These all are one or the other form of vegetarian Indian fritters, equally delicious, crispy, and all-time favourite teatime snacks.
My Tried & True Tips
There is no shortcut to making an authentic medhu vadai. It has to be done from scratch. There are a few Indian recipes that require the love of labour, and this is surely one of those. Soaking the dal: It is essential to soak the dal for vada for at least 5 – 6 hours before grinding. The vada batter is never prepared with unsoaked lentils. Grinding the dal: Use very little water while grinding the dal (by little I mean not more than 2 – 4 tablespoons). If the batter seems thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time. It is a time and labour-intensive process but worth it. Whisk the batter: After grinding without adding salt, whisk the batter for 10 minutes or till it is light, airy, and fluffy. I use my electric hand mixer for this purpose. It does the job excellently. The perfectly fluffy dal batter results in a delicious restaurant-style vada. Shaping Vada: It requires a bit of practice. Always wet your fingers with water before shaping the vada, or you can use a banana leaf also for the purpose. Frying Vada: Before deep-frying the vada, ensure the oil is hot enough. Perform a test by dropping a small drop of batter into the oil. If it quickly floats to the surface, oil is ready. But if it sinks or gets stuck to the pan, wait for more time. I prefer frying the vada at medium-high heat so that it gets perfectly cooked from the inside and crisp from the outside. Let the vada cook and turn golden from one side, then flip, and cook from the other side.
Serving Suggestion
For an authentic South Indian breakfast at home, prepare – Rava Idli, Medu Vada, Sambar, Coconut Chutney, and filter coffee. It will be a blissful Sunday morning breakfast. While most people choose to have vada in the morning, many love to binge on it as a teatime snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Traditionally, medu vada sambar is the most popular meal combination; however, you can also savour it with a dash of slightly sweet, whipped curd as dahi vada or only with coconut chutney.
Watch Medu Vada Video
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