MeduWada – by, Rekha

It’s just a few months since I know this lady – Rekha Vengalil from Foodolicious Pictured, whose clicks impressed me at the very 1st glance to her blog!!! We got in touch via FB and now when we’ve become good friends, I asked her if she would like to do a guest-post for me… And she immediately came up with a positive response :)

I’m one of her regular readers for sure… During initial few days after discovering her space, I fell in love with her baking skills out of all her culinary creations. No doubt, she makes everything just so perfect yet I’m a big fan of her macaroons!!! And I’m yet to try it by myself…

Rekha, thanks a ton for being a part of my series :) Over to the lady now…

A little of me, I am Rekha and Foodolicious pictured is my blog. A blog that was born out of my love for cooking and a passion that I wanted to record. I am from Kerala and settled in Singapore; living with my husband and our daughter who is 5 now. A HR consultant by profession.

I am really lucky to have met some beautiful people in the blog world and Shruthi has been one of them. A wonderful person and her blog don’t need any introduction from me! As you know they are encumbered with some great recipes and beautiful pictures. Truly happy to have met you Shruti and I am so sorry that I had to delay this post and you have been so patient. Thank you!

Uzhunnu/Medu vada are famous deep fried lentil fitters in the South of India served for breakfast or as a teatime snack. They are traditionally served with coconut chutney or sambar.

Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Urad Dhal / Black gram
1 tbsp Rice flour
1 Small Onion, finely chopped
1 no. Green chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger, minced
1 sprig Curry leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp Whole black pepper
Salt, to taste
Oil, for deep frying

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Wash the Urad dhal well and soak the dhal in the water for an hour. After an hour, drain the water completely from the dhal and into a blender.
2. Blend the dhal to a thick and smooth paste adding very little water at a time. Please make sure not to add too much of water as it will get difficult to shape the batter.
3. Put the batter into a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients and mix well with your hand in a circular motion as this will help build air into the batter and make the vadas airy and fluffy. Work for about 5-6 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan.
5. To shape, take a bowl of water and dip your hands so that the batter does not stick while you shape it. Take the batter enough to make a small sized ball and flatten using your palm. Now make a hole in the middle (like a doughnut). Drop this slowly and carefully into the hot oil and deep fry till golden. Drain into a kitchen tissue. Repeat this process with the remaining batter.
6. Serve warm with chutney/sambar and tea/coffee.

Rekha’s Note:

• The batter should be thick so while grinding make sure to add only very little water.
• If the batter gets a thin then add urad powder or rice flour.
• You may also refrigerate the batter for 15-20 minutes before shaping.