← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 200 g skinned urad dal (whole or split)
• 4 tbsp ice-cold water, as needed
• 1 tbsp Rice flour (optional)
• 2 Green chilli, finely chopped
• 2 cm piece Ginger, finely chopped
• 1 sprig Curry leaves, chopped
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)
• ¾ tsp Salt
• oil, for deep-frying

Method

1. Rinse the urad dal and soak it in plenty of water for 4 hours. Drain thoroughly.
2. Grind the dal in a blender or wet grinder, adding the ice-cold water a spoonful at a time, for 4–5 min, scraping down often, until thick, smooth and fluffy. A drop of batter should float in a glass of water.
3. Tip into a bowl and beat it with your hand for 2 min to trap more air. Fold in the salt, chillies, ginger, curry leaves, pepper, onion and rice flour if using.
4. Heat 6 cm of oil to 175°C (350°F). Wet your hands, take a lemon-sized ball of batter, flatten it slightly on your wet palm and poke a hole in the middle with your thumb.
5. Slide it gently into the oil. Fry 3–4 at a time for 3–4 min per side, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on paper.
6. Serve hot with sambar and coconut chutney.

Tips

• Add as little water as possible when grinding: runny batter can’t be shaped and the vadas soak up oil.
• If shaping is tricky, wet a square of plastic or banana leaf, shape the vada on it and slide it off into the oil.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Cook With Manali