Medu vada is one of the most popular South Indian snacks. They are known for their crispy outer layer but the soft and fluffy inner layer. They are mainly prepared using urad dal, a black gram, and form an excellent side dish accompanying breakfast, sambar, and coconut chutney. The menu vada recipe is simple, with a few important steps to get the right texture and flavours. First, soak one cup of urad dal in water for almost four to six hours. After grinding the dal into a smooth batter, let it be drained out, adding a little water if needed. Very importantly, grind it well and get the light, airy texture. Transfer this batter to a bowl; add finely chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, and fresh coriander leaves for added flavour. Heat oil in a deep pan for frying. Wet your hands, take a small portion of the batter, and shape it into a doughnut-like ring. Slide it carefully into hot oil; fry until golden brown from both sides. While this recipe of medu vada can be varied through the addition of spices like cumin seeds or black pepper, you can see that it's versatile. Fry the vadas and drain the excess oil on paper towels. Occasion: Hot vadas are a delight and best enjoyed with chutney or sambar.

• 250 gms urad dal
• 1 tbsp curry leaves
• 1 green chilli
• As per taste salt
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves
• 1 tsp ginger
• Cooking oil

• Preparing medu vadas is quite a joyride within itself as it begins with very few ingredients and a tiny bit of patience.
• You start by cleaning 250 gms of urad dal properly by running water to remove all the dirt and impurities.
• Clean dal in fresh water for about 4 to 5 hours or overnight for best results.
• This soaking period is of prime importance, as it will soften the dal and thereby make it easy to grind it into a smooth batter.
• Finally, after the soaking time is up, drain the water content in the dal, placing it in a blender or food processor.
• Here, it would be best if you ground the soaked dal till it transforms into a thick, smooth batter.
• If your mixture still does not have a dropping consistency, add a little water to the mix so that it reaches the dropping consistency.
• Dropping consistency means the batter, when dropped from a spoon, would form a ball and not break or crumble.
• When your batter falls from the spoon, it holds its shape, but it is smooth and flat enough to spread quickly around the stuffing, once it is ready.
• Now it is time to flavour your batter.
• Add to it one finely chopped green chilli for an incendiary touch, one teaspoon of grated ginger for warmth and zest, one tablespoon of finely chopped curry leaves to lend the vadas an aromatic quality, and one tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves for a fresh, herbaceous note.
• Add salt to taste to the batter.
• Mix all of these ingredients well so that they all are distributed evenly.
• Vibrant colours and enticing aromas because of these additions make the vadas all the more delectable.
• To fry the medu vadas, first heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai over medium heat.
• The oil has to be hot enough to fry the vadas golden brown and not too full of oil, so just a little test for the temperature would be to drop a small spoonful of the batter into the oil; if it sizzles and floats to the surface, that's good.
• Wet your hands so the mixture will not stick to your fingers. Using a small amount of dough, shape it into a round disk with a hole in the middle, like a doughnut.
• The unique shape looks attractive but also means that the vadas can fry evenly.
• Once you get several formed vadas, slide them gently into the hot oil, being careful not to break them.
• Never overcrowd the pan; frying two to three vadas at a time would work just fine, depending on the size of your kadai.
• Fry for about 3-4 minutes or till they are golden brown on both sides.
• As they fry, they puff up a little into a lovely texture.
• Fry them until golden.
• Carefully remove the medu vadas from the oil in a slotted spoon.
• Letting the excess oil drip off, place the vadas on a paper towel to make sure that your vadas are crispy and not greasy.
• Serve hot, freshly fried medu vadas with coconut chutney and sambar for a traditional taste.
• One of the perfect balances in terms of flavour and texture provided by this snack is the crunchy, savoury vadas along with excellent, creamy chutney and rich, spicy sambar.
• It can be enjoyed at any time, it in tea time, as a festive appetiser, or perhaps as an accessory in otherwise classic South Indian food.
• Enjoy the satisfaction of making these delicious treats from scratch and listen to the praise from family and friends as they enjoy the recipe of medu vada.