ULUNDU VADAI  /  MEDU  VADAI

 

Urad dal /Black gram Dal - -  1 Aazhaaku
Green chilly  -  -  2 or 3
Ginger -  1/2 inch
Hing -  2 pinches
Curry leaves -  few.  ( clean and pat with towel to remove excess wetness).

Soak dhal for 1 hr and keep it inside the fridge with water and continue soaking for one more hr. 

Adding very less water at a time,  grind everything nicely except Curry leaves. .  Grinding in wet grinder gives an excellent result,  still you'll get good vadai in mixie grinded vadai too.

Add salt as per taste in vadai batter. Add dry fried rice flour -  1 tsp.  Add chopped Curry leaves.   And  mix nicely with your hand and let the batter get aerated nicely. 

Don't keep the vadai batter outside to ferment as it take more oil while deep frying.  If you are planning to make it later,  keep the batter in fridge.

Heat the oil for deep frying in a heavy bottom Pan or Kadai.

Keep water in a small bowl,  for dipping your fingers before patting the vadai batter.

By wetting your hands,  take a small ball quantity of vadai batter and for making them into vadai shape.... make smooth ball,  place it on the wet plastic sheet or  banana leaf . Pat them slightly and using wet finger make a hole in-between the Vadai.

By this time,  oil would be ready to fry. It should be hot. 

Just check by dropping a pinch of batter in the hot oil.   It should pop up  with in few seconds. 

Carefully transfer the patted vadai to your hands and slip into the oil.  While slipping , keep your hands as much close as possible to the oil and slip it very very gently .   Don’t keep your hands too high from the oil surface, as the hot oil may splash while you slip the vadai.  

Keep  in medium flame while dropping patted vadai. 

Make sure,  Vadai doesn't stick at the bottom of the Pan.  

Start patting for the next vadai and drop it in oil.... Vadais should not stick with each other.

You can fry more than 2 vadais at a time depend upon the size of Kadai and Qty of oil used for frying. 

But don't over crowd vadai while frying.

Fry them till they become golden brown and crispy. 

Remove and keep it on tissue paper to remove excess oil.  

Serve hot vadai with sambar /chutney.   

Onion Vadai : 

 
Mix finely sliced onion and add it with the batter , just before patting . Don't add well in advance as it may become watery batter. 

Note:  If you haven't grind batter nicely,  Vadai will be hard /chewy. 

Add cold water if you are grinding in mixie. 

Replace green chilly and ginger with red chilly and pepper powder. 

Never add salt while grinding. 

After adding salt,  the batter will get extra moisture so make sure not to add more water while grinding.

 If you are planning to prepare vadai later,  keep batter inside the fridge.  Use it with in 24 hrs.