MEDHU VADAI/ SOUTHINDIAN FRITTER

     

A great fluffy fritter on a rainy day. Sounds yumm.. right!

       This is an all time favourite snack in south india. There is no pooja or festival celebrated without this savory [an elaborate menu in Tamil nadu is called 'vadai-payasam' (meaning 'fritters-milk pudding') and of course the menu should have these medhu vadais (white lentils fritters) and a payasam (milk pudding), usually semiya payasam].
      I have posted the recipe of the same. This can be prepared in a jiffy, provided the time for soaking! Serve yourself this fritter piping hot on a rainy day and you'll fall in love with this. These fritters are a great source of energy due to the ingredients added to it. 

Ingredients in other languages

1. White lentil (Skinless black gram) - urad dal in hindi, ulundu in tamil, uzhunna parippu in malayalam and minapa pappu in telugu.

2. Rice flour - chawal ka aata, arisi maavu in tamil, aripodi in malayalam and biyyappu pindi (or biyyam pindi) in telugu.

3. Onion - Pyaaz in hindi, vengaayam in tamil, savala or ulli in malayalam and ullipayalu or nirulli in telugu.

4. Green chillies - Hari mirch in hindi, pachai milagai in tamil, pachamulagu in malayalam and pachi mirapakaayalu in telugu

5. Ginger - Adarak in hindi, inji in tamil, inchi in malayalam and allam or sonthi in telugu.

6. Peppercorns - Kali mirch in hindi, milagu in tamil, kuru mulaku in malayalam and miriyaalu in telugu.

7. Curry leaves - Kadi pattha in hindi, karivepillai in tamil, karivepilla in malayalam and karivepaku in telugu. 

8. Coriander leaves (or cilantro) - dhaniya patha in hindi, kothamalli thazai in tamil, kothamalli ila in malayalam and kothimeera or kothamalli kooraku in telugu.

9. Salt - Namak in hindi, uppu in tamil, malayalam and telugu.

10. Oil - Thel in hindi, ennai in tamil, enna in malayalam and nuna or nune in telugu.

MEDHU VADAI/ SOUTHINDIAN FRITTER RECIPE

Cuisine - South Indian 
Category - Snack
Preparation time - 10 minutes, Soaking time - 1 hour
Cooking time - 10 minutes
Yields - 10 to 12 fritters

INGREDIENTS

White lentil (urad dal) - 1 cup

Rice flour - 2 teaspoon

Onion (finely chopped) - 2 large 

Green chillies ( finely chopped ) - 2 nos

Ginger (finely chopped) - 2 teaspoon

Peppercorns - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Curry leaves (finely chopped) - 1 stalk

Coriander leaves/ Cilantro (finely chopped) - 3 to 5 stalks

Salt - As required

Oil - For deep frying

METHOD

1. Soak white lentils for about an hour. Drain the excess water and grind it without adding water first. Add water little by little to make the batter.

2. The batter should not be runny. It should be like a paste, of dropping consistency.

3. Now add the rest of the ingredients except oil in a large bowl and mix with the batter.

4. Heat oil in a skillet. Check whether the oil is hot enough by dropping a small bit of the batter. If it comes up then the oil is ready for frying. Don’t overheat the oil as it may burn the fritters.

5. Take a golf sized ball out of the batter, shape vadai with your hand and drop them in the oil. Dip your hand in water before shaping the fritter so that the batter don’t stick in your hand.

6.Slip in the fritter one by one carefully. Flip when the bubbles in the oil slows down.

7. Take the vadai off when it is done with a slotted spoon and place it over a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.

8. Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambhar.

Tips

1. You can use a ziploc or a plaintain leaf for shaping vadai... i.e., place a small ball of batter over it, flatten slightly with your palm, make a hole in the center and gently slide it in hot oil.

2. Coconut bits can be added in the batter to increase the taste and texture.

3. If you have prepared too much of it, don worry, just put them in some thick curd with some chopped coriander leaves and serve the same after an hour or so! Thayir vadai!

4. The vadai can be prepared even plain i.e., without onion, green chillies or anything. Just the lentils batter will do. When you really don’t have time to chop the things, you can go for a plain variation.
5. Regarding shapes, they can be made as small balls simply flattened in the middle too (flattening is for even cooking).

Related posts - Minapa pappu adai (Black gram pancake), peanut chutney.