fastindianrecipes.com

Medu vada

Medu vada is a delicious South Indian tiffin item. I love most South Indian food and medu vada is no exception. It takes a little time and practice to make perfect medu vada but you won’t regret it, I’m sure.

Recipe of medu vada/ wada

1 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1 tsp ginger paste

3 green chillies- finely chopped

1 tsp black pepper powder or freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

1. Wash and soak urad dal for atleast 6 hours or overnight. Drain.

2. Coarsely grind the urad dal in a blender adding as little water as possible otherwise vadas will not hold shape. Grinded dal should not be too smooth but a little coarse.

3. Add salt, green chillies, ginger and black pepper to the dal. Beat well so that air is incorporated in the batter and vada turn out fluffy.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok or a frying pan. When the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium.

5. Wet your palms and take a small portion from the batter. Shape it into a ball and then poke your thumb in the center so that a hole is formed. The idea of the hole is to increase the surface area where oil reaches so that vada is evenly cooked from all places.

6. Gently invert the vada in the oil. Similarly make other medu wada and place them in oil. Remember not to overcrowd the wok.

7. When the medu vadas are cooked from underneath, turn them over with a slotted spoon (pauni/ chhari). Vadas should be golden brown from both sides. They should be fried on medium heat otherwise they will be golden from outside and doughy from inside.

8. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve medu vada hot with sambhar and chutney.

aloo wadi

Wadis in the recipe of aloo wadi are Amritsari wadiyan. Wadi is sun dried spicy urad dal (black gram) dumpling or nugget. When you make aloo wadi, take care not to add too much salt or spices as wadi is already very spicy. I prefer not to add any red chilli powder or garam masala powder. It’s basically a Punjabi dish and very tasty.

Recipe of aloo wadi/ wadiyan

2-3 large wadis (dried spicy urad dal dumplings)

3 medium potatoes- peeled and cubed

1 onion- chopped

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

2 tomatoes- pureed

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2+2 tsp oil

1. Break urad dal wadiyan into small pieces.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pressure cooker and roast wadi pieces till aromatic but don’t roast too much otherwise they will burn. Drain. Soak the roasted wadi pieces in 1 cup of water.

While you make rest of the preparations, let them be soaked.

3. Heat 2 tsp oil in the same pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. Add onion and sauté till onion become pink.

4. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree, salt, turmeric and coriander powders. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add potatoes, wadi and enough water. Mix well. Close the lid of the cooker.

6. Let 1 whistle come, then turn the heat to medium. Let 3 more whistles come. Turn off the heat. Open the lid when pressure drops down naturally. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.