Soft Vadai (Medhu or Ulundu)

This Sunday is Father’s day.

With Mother’s day, I made my mom’s favorite – Cajun Fish Tacos. I’m not sure if taco’s her favorite. But definitely fish.

With father’s day, it has to be Vadai. The soft type, that is. Also known as Medhu or Ulundu Vadai. My dad’s favorite.

Just like the fish tacos, I’ve made and enjoyed the Vadai on my dad’s behalf… since we’re in different parts of the world right now. Sorry, dad.

I remember as a kid, my dad would bring the family.. or if I’m lucky, just me… to places to eat be it for meals or supper or tea. Usually, the goal is to relieve our tummies of our cravings. One of the places we’d go to were Indian restaurants. We’d eat banana leaf meals or roti. If available, we would always buy savory snacks like this soft vadai. Sometimes, I would get the crunchy/hard type of vadai (aka paruppu or masala vadai). They’re both my favorite.

Vadai originated from South India. It’s basically black lentil that has been skinned and blended into a paste. Mixed with some spices and then deep fried, the result is a crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside savory fritter type snack. For you savory folks, this is going to be heaven. Sweet tooth folks, well… move along.

They look like donuts, but they’re couldn’t be any more different. Mr. V’s brains get confused when he eats them. “It’s supposed to be sweet”, he’d say. Not everything on earth is cherry pie, Mr. V. Some of us just like things savory.

So Happy Father’s Day dad…. and to all you fathers out there. Best gift you can give your children? Hang out with them. They’ll remember it for the rest of their lives. Unless… your memory capability is like Mr. V. Short and ‘sweet’. Literally.

Also, if you haven’t done so already, check out my last post Crab Cakes. Crisp exterior, light & moist interior Crab Cakes. No fussing with filling. Just plenty of crab meat. Simple but absolutely delicious.

 

Are you savory or sweet?

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Soft Vadai (Medhu or Ulundu)                 Makes 10 Vadai

what you need:

1 cup skinned black lentil (urad dal or split Matpe Beans)
3 tbs water
1-2 green chilies, deseeded and finely chopped
3 shallots or 1/2 small onion, finely diced
3 tbs curry leaves, roughly chopped
2 tsp rice flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp sugar

directions:

1. Soak the lentils for 4 hours to overnight.

2. Drain the lentils. Discard the water but 3 tablespoons. Place the lentils and the water in a food processor or blender and blend until it becomes a thick batter.

3. Put the batter into a wide bowl. Using a wooden spoon, whisk or beat the batter until it turns a paler color. What you’re doing here is aerating it so the interior is fluffier when it’s fried.

4. Drop a ball of batter into a bowl of water. It should be floating. If it’s immersed, continue to whisk and beat the batter.

5. Add the chilies, shallots, curry leaves, rice flour, salt, pepper, curry powder and sugar. Mix well. You can chill this for 1 hour for easier handling when frying.

6. In a pan or wok, heat about 2-3 cups of oil over medium heat. Make sure there’s plenty of room for the vadai to float and fry without them sticking to the surface. Put a small spoon of batter into the oil. When it’s bubbling, the oil is hot and ready.

7. Push the batter to one side of the bowl leaving some space on the other. With wet hands and fingers, scoop a dollop of batter (roughly 1/4 cup). Using the empty space in the bowl, roughly shape it to become a disk. Scoop it up swiftly, use your thumbs and press through the middle (making a hole). Nothing is going to be perfect. It may even take a while to get the hang of it. Don’t give up. Practice makes perfect.

6. Bring you hand as near as you can to the oil and drop the shaped batter in. Let gravity do the work. If you’re closer to the oil, it won’t splash. Add as many as your pan or wok can fit comfortably.

7. Let the vadai fry for a couple minutes until golden brown. Flip and fry the second side until it’s golden brown. Use a slotted spoon, remove and place fried vadai on a paper towel for a couple minutes to drain the excess oil. Then, place them on a wire rack.

8. To keep vadai warm, put them in the oven at the lowest temperature. To reheat cooled vadai, place them in a toaster oven and toast for a couple minutes.

Notes:

1. Black Lentil: I bought mine here. You probably can find them in most Indian markets if you’re in close proximity to any.

2. Green chilies: I bought the Korean type since it’s less spicy. It’s up to you what type to use.

3. Curry leaves: I bought mine here.

4. It may smell funky after you blended it. This is just the smell of raw lentils (kind of like raw soy beans). It won’t smell like that at all after frying.

5. You may feel the urge to add more rice flour (to make the paste drier for easier handling), but the paste requires a delicate balance of wet (from the water) and dry to make a soft and fluffy interior.

6. Why donut shape? So it cooks evenly. If there’s not hole in the center, it may stay uncooked by the time the rest of the vadai is cooked. Besides, more surface area = more crispy skin. Nothing bad there.

7. You can freeze them after frying. When you want to eat, just thaw in the refrigerator overnight, pop it in an oven toaster for a couple minutes. It’ll taste just like freshly fried vadai. Best part is, it’s still going to have its crisp. Yum!

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