URAD DAL VADA | ULUNDU VADAI WITH PEPPER

I have never got urad dal vada perfectly until i saw my mom making it . Recently when my parents visited me , i told my mom to make vada . We all know grinding the dal in the grinder yields fluffy,more quantity of batter. Though it is true , we cannot use grinder for small quantities.My mom always use mixie to grind the batter.I too use mixie but i add more water, make the batter watery and prepare bondas instead of vada .I asked the correct quantity of water from my mom.For the past two , three times i am getting a good shaped vada..Now i know the knack of making crispy vada even for lesser quantity of dal.. I should also thank my sil for posting a video of how to make vada . My mom taught me some alternate methods to bring the vada shape. I’ve tried to give the step by step pics for making vada in different methods. Try whichever is convenient..Please click here if u r interested to watch a video on "HOW TO GRIND VADA BATTER USING MIXIE","HOW TO GRIND BATTER USING GRINDER" and " HOW TO SHAPE VADA USING A SHEET"..I’ve given some tips to adjust the batter consistency , for correct shape & ingredients for onion vada in the notes section.. As my husband hates onion vada, i always make pepper vada and sometimes vegetable vada.  We make pepper vada for all occasions..Even today for saraswathi pooja , i made this vada along with rice payasam and channa dal sundal.Usually this pepper vada looks white in color. As i want my vada to be golden brown , i fried in high flame for few seconds before removing it. So please dont think why ur vada looks white and mine looks brown here ;) Also for onion vada , if the color of onion changes to golden brown , it indicates the vada is cooked properly.

Don't forget to check out my latest post with video about medhu vadai recipe using grinder

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

White round urad dal – 1 cup Water – 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp to 1/2 cup  ( to grind) ( if possible use ice water ) Salt – as needed. Asafetida / hing – 1/4 tsp Crushed Pepper corns – 1 tbsp Rice flour - 1 (optional, adjust) Curry leaves – Few ( chopped ) Oil – to deep fry

METHOD

Wash and soak the urad dal for 30 – 45 mins inside the refrigerator .Drain all the water completely and use it for grinding the batter. This ice water helps to prevent mixie jar from heating. Take the dal in a bigger size mixie jar.Choose a medium sized jar as the dal gets increased in quantity. Add 1/4 cup of water and the required salt . Grind for some time till the batter turns little coarse..Now stop the mixie and wipe the sides and the lid. Again add a tbsp of water, salt and run the mixie for one more minute. Batter should be fluffy , white and smooth..Add more water till it becomes a smooth paste.. Take little water in a bowl and put a drop of batter. If the batter floats on top & doesn’t dissolve or settle down , the consistency is correct. Add one more tbsp of water if necessary. Now remove the batter in a bowl and add some water to the mixie jar. Clean the jar with water by running it once. Keep the water and use it for dipping ur hands while making vada. Add the hing and the crushed pepper corns to the batter .Add rice flour if needed. Mix well.. Heat the oil in a kadai. If u put a drop of batter , batter will rise immediately. It is the correct heating point. Adjust the flame to medium high to low and deep fry the vada.. Also keep ur hands wet by dipping in the water now & then..Batter should be non-sticky to ur hands.. Take  a small ball sized batter and place it in a milk cover or polythene sheet greased with water. Place the batter and pat it little thick. Make a hole in the center.. Remove the vada and drop in hot oil. Deep fry both the sides and serve hot.. The second method is grease ur left hand with little oil & then apply water..Place a ball shaped batter , pat it and make a hole in the center. Transfer the vada to ur right hand fingers and drop in oil.Deep fry and serve hot. The third method is take a small ball shaped batter in ur right hand fingers. Make a hole in the center using ur right hand thumb finger . Invert ur hand over oil and drop the vada by slightly tilting ur finger OR slide the vada using ur thumb finger. Deep fry the vada on both the sides till brown and crispy. Serve hot with chutney !!

NOTE

If u grind the batter in grinder , add the dal little by little while the grinder is running. Add 1/4 cup of water and stand nearby.After few mins, the batter will raise and turns fluffy. Now wipe the sides and add / sprinkle little more water ( may be 2 tbsp) . Grind for some more time. The batter would be very smooth, fluffy and white. This takes 15-20 mins based on the grinder. The batter quantity will increase. Remove and proceed as mentioned above.. If u dont add salt while grinding the dal , u have to add little more water (may be around 2 tbsp ) If ur batter is slightly watery , add a tsp of rice flour , mix well and make vada. If u eat immediately , u can add more than a tsp of rice flour too. U’ll get crispier vada but when it cools down , it will become hard.. U can also try refrigerating the batter for sometime if it is slightly thin. Vada absorbs oil if the water in the batter is more. If so next time add slightly less water. Do not deep fry the vada in low flame. This makes the vada absorb more oil. Adjust the flame from medium high to low whenever necessary.. My MIL soaks a tsp of toor dal along with urad dal to avoid oil absorption. I’ve heard , in hotels they add 2 tsp of rice while soaking urad dal. For making vada with onions : first grind 2-3 green chillies and a piece of ginger along with urad dal.Grind the batter .Then mix the finely chopped small onions, a tsp of hing and finely chopped curry leaves. Remaining the same procedure as mentioned above..For onion vada , add less water while grinding because the onion may leave water and the batter may become watery at the end.. The water & urad dal ratio is 1:4 . It may need 2 - 3 tbsp of water extra. Please do not add more than that. Every time dip ur hands in water generously and make the shape so that the vada slides to the oil without sticking to ur hands. I recently read a tip from a website to make a proper hole in the center. ie After dropping the vada in the oil , if u feel the hole is small or not even , just put a hole using a chapathi  rolling pin by dipping it in the oil . But be careful while u do this. U may need not do this if ur batter is right in consistency.. If u r planning to grind in mixie, always prepare the vada just before serving and eat hot.I can’t guarantee the taste if served warm or cold .Serve with ur favourite chutney. For sambar vada or curd vada , dip the hot onion vada in a bowl of warm water , squeeze the water by keeping in between ur palm and immediately soak in sambar or curd ..

Don't forget to check out my latest post with video about medhu vadai recipe using grinder

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