Coffee and doughnuts are a popular morning food for office goers in the West, and you can say the same about Medu Vada (aka Medhu Vadai) and Kaapi for us South Indians. If you have an opportunity to visit any decent south Indian eatery – from street vendor to fine dining – you are sure to find this on the menu. Although the hard truth remains that it is a deep fried savory, when had in moderation (a plate of vada – either one large vada or a maximum of two medium-sized ones), it is both delicious and nutritious and forms part of most festive menus in the region.

What is Medu Vada

Aren’t your favorite drool-worthy foods crispy on the outside and soft inside? Add one more to the mix. This popular snack is called just that – Medhu (soft in Tamil) Vadai (a deep fried fritter in Tamil). This showstopper recipe can be made with just one single ingredient – de-husked black gram – a powerhouse of nutrition. Everything else is added to elevate the dish to the next level and to have consistent results. Let’s dive in…

Ingredients

Note: 1 cup = 235 ml

• 1 cup de-husked black gram (Urad Dal)
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp. raw rice
• 1 Tbsp. split chickpeas (Chana Dal)
• 1 Tbsp. green chili, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. ginger, diced
• 4-5 ice cubes or ½ cup cold water
• Salt to taste (I use 1¼ tsp. salt)
• ⅛ tsp. asafoetida
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 cups avocado oil or any cooking oil suitable for deep frying

Equipment

• 2 medium size mixing bowls
• Blender jar
• Deep frying pan
• Slotted ladle
• Paper towel

A note on key ingredients

Black gram – A fresh batch of de-husked black gram will give you Medu Vadas with the best texture. As black gram ages, it loses the fluffiness that creates the soft and spongy insides of these fritters. This also applies to Idlis

Raw rice and chana dal – Adding a spoonful of raw rice and split chickpeas to this batter brings out the crispiness that we all crave for. You can skip these ingredients if you do not have them handy, but the crust will not remain crisp for long

How to prepare Medu Vada – An Overview

Soak and grind, whisk to aerate, shape and deep fry until golden brown

Tips before you begin

📝 Using minimum to no water while grinding the soaked black gram is the main tip for making the best shaped vadas

📝If you accidentally add excess water, you can fix it by adding a spoon or two of rice flour

📝Use a fresh batch of cooking oil for oil free fried food, as reused oils make food more greasy

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How to make Medu Vada – Instructions with step-by-step images

Soak & Grind

Step 1 – Wash and soak 1 cup de-husked black gram (urad dal – Hindi / Ulutham Paruppu or Ulundu – Tamil) in 2 cups of water along with 1 Tbsp. raw rice and 1 Tbsp. split chickpeas (Chana Dal- Hindi / Kadala Paruppu – Tamil) and set aside for 2 hours

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Step 2 – After 2 hours, drain the excess water and prepare for grinding. Keep a few ice cubes or ice cold water handy

Step 3 – Place 1 Tbsp. chopped green chili, 1 Tbsp. diced ginger and drained black gram into a mixer jar and start to grind into a coarse paste without adding any water. Mid way through, when the blender starts to struggle, add one tablespoonful of ice cold water and continue to grind. Keep repeating as long as you do not exceed more than six tablespoons of water in total

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Consistency of the batter is key to getting perfectly shaped medu vadas, so use water sparingly. The batter should be soft and slippery i.e. when you scoop the batter into your hands and drop it back, the batter should smoothly slip out of your hand with your hand looking almost clean (as shown in the picture)

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Whisk

Step 4 – Transfer the ground batter to a medium size mixing bowl and add salt to taste (I use 1¼ tsp. salt), ⅛ tsp. asafoetida, and 2 sprigs curry leaves torn roughly with bare hands

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Step 5 – Now use your hand or a ladle and whisk the batter in any one single direction (for about 12 – 15 spins) to incorporate salt and to aerate. You will notice that the volume of the batter increases as it aerates. Do not overdo this step or go in the opposite direction or you might end up losing all the aeration

Shape & Fry

Step 6 – Heat 2 cups of cooking oil in a deep frying pan. When you think the oil is hot, quickly check it by dropping a tiny ball of batter and if it floats immediately, you’re good to go

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Step 7 – While the oil is heating, keep the batter, a bowl of water (preferably the one used to rinse the mixer jar), and a hand towel ready before you start to shape the medu vada

Step 8 – Dip your hand in the bowl of water, quickly scoop a large lemon size batter on your fingers (excl. the thumb) and make a well with your thumb in the center as shown in the picture

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Step 9 – Now gently drop this doughnut shaped batter into the hot oil and fry until both sides are golden brown. The important tip here is to keep the oil temperature between 350°F – 400°F and cook the vada slowly until all the air bubbles settle down and the oil looks clear

If the oil is too hot, the outer dough will turn brown quickly yielding uncooked vada on the inside. So keep a constant eye on the temperature of the oil

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Step 10 – Scoop out the cooked vadas with a slotted ladle and set aside on a paper towel or colander for excess oil to be absorbed/drained before serving

Step 11 – Repeat steps 8 through 10 until you are done with the rest of the batter

Step 12 – Enjoy your sublime medu vadas with your favorite sambar, rasam, chutney, any dip or just by itself 😋

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How I perfected my Medu Vada recipe

During my early cooking days, I used to fear making vadas when I hosted others. Being a Tamilian, one is expected know recipes for perfect idli and vada as if it were an inborn skill. But the sad thing was that I could only manage to serve a bunch of crispy little fritter balls (bondas) rather than the traditional doughnut shaped ones. I could never get the ‘hole in the middle’. I had by this time wasted time with all sorts of hacks – trying out branded vada makers, using plastic bags or banana leaves to flatten the vadas, but all to no avail. I lost my will of making perfect vadas. If you followed the recent viral videos of making perfect medu vadas using tea strainers and subsequently failed, you may be able to relate to my frustration. Read on for my turnaround…

I never saw my mom making vada batter, I only observed her effortlessly dishing them out to my family as we waited for them to cool off enough to grab a few and munch on greedily. But when it was my turn to make them, I realized I should have paid more attention to the teacher. I found I had to resolve three challenges – 1) maintaining consistency of the batter every time I tried this recipe, 2) minimizing (and preferably eliminating) the use of baking soda to reduce sodium intake but yet not lose that restaurant-quality crispy crust, and 3) ensuring a well-cooked fluffier interior. 

Consistency of the batter is controlled by the amount of water you add while grinding. My mom would often say that the key to achieving fantastic results was to make the batter in a wet grinder. But during the early days of my marriage, making a large batch of batter using a huge grinder was not an option since it was just the two of us. I was determined to find alternatives with the gadgets I had on hand. I had a regular blender and had to pause every few minutes to prevent the appliance from heating up and shutting down. While I realized that a bit of patience was an essential ingredient, I also realized that adding a tablespoon of ice cold water to the half ground mixture yielded great results (the colder water temp definitely helped with the overheating issue). Two birds in one stone – I knew exactly how my batter consistency would turn out and was able to use a regular blender. Next, I wanted to eliminate baking soda and I achieved that when a good family friend, Mrs. Raji Jayaraman, visited us in 2009 and shared the tip of adding raw rice and split chickpea instead. Finally, in order to aerate the batter more for a spongier inside, I stumbled upon the technique of mixing the batter in one direction only when incorporating the flavours. This encourages the batter to fluff up giving the final product a perfectly cooked inside. People familiar with making pancakes, idlis and dhoklas can relate to this. With a few simple tweaks, I have been able to achieve consistently sublime results and I’m sure you can get there too. 

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Recipe Card – Medu Vada

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