Vada recipe – Garelu, uddina vade, ulundhu vadai, medu vada are the other South Indian names to these round disc shaped fritters. These are one of the very popular South Indian foods served for Breakfast or Snack not only in most traditional South Indian homes but also in street stalls and tiffin centers.
What is vada?
Vada is a crispy deep fried savory food made of lentils. Usually they are made by soaking and grinding urad dal (skinned black gram) or chana dal (bengal gram) to batter. Then small portions of this batter is deep fried.
Those made using urad dal are called medu vada or medhu vadai in Tamil and Garelu in Telugu. They are served with tiffin sambar and fresh coconut chutney.
The kind made using chana dal are called as masala vadai or chana dal vada. These are served with just tea or chutney.
Medu vada recipe shared here can be used to make a basic version which are offered to goddess Lakshmi and Durga during festivals like varalakshmi vratam / puja, Gouri puja, Diwali and Durga navratri. These can also be made like hotel style lightly spiced vadai.
The ingredients that go towards making naivedhyam medu vada or garelu are kept simple. At home we make these without onion, ginger, pepper or green chilies.
Each family have their own custom whether to include or not certain ingredients.
The hotel style ones are made using crushed pepper, green chilies, cumin and onions. Even a pinch of baking soda is used to make them very fluffy.
Can I make vada batter without wet grinder?
In hotels & restaurants, medu vada batter is ground in wet grinder. This gives the best fluffy texture from inside and crispy texture outside. Most traditional South Indian households too use a wet grinder to make the batter.
But every time I make garelu I use my mixer grinder. I have a very large wet grinder so I rarely use that for grinding. We can make fluffy medu vada even without a wet grinder.
If you intend to try these read all the notes mentioned in this post to get them right.
Notes & tips
- Do not let the mixer-grinder or the batter to heat up otherwise medu vada can become hard. Sometimes they may even taste bitter.
- If the batter becomes slightly runny, you can mix 1 to 2 tbsps. Of rice flour (at room temperature).Then beat it well to get aerated. If the batter turns to be runny still, I suggest you to make make punugulu
- Other alternates are to use powdered poha or attukulu. Poha works great.
- If you are a beginner make them on a damp cloth, plastic sheet or cling flim and then transfer to the hot oil. Do not make it in your hand or fingers.
- Adding salt later to the batter can thin it down, so make sure you add while grinding.
- Use only very little ice cold water to grind the batter. Using not more than 1 1/2 tsp. at one time, which literally means you have to sprinkle the water evenly.
Reasons for hard vadas
- Not soaking dal for at least 4 hours.
- Not grinding the batter well.
- Did not use enough water while grinding or did not aerate the batter well.
If your vadas turn out hard even after you follow all these tips, it means dal is very old stock. Yes vadas made from old stock dal don’t turn out good. Old stocks look very pale yellow in color so avoid using such urad dal.
Vada remains uncooked or over browned:
Adding vadas to extremely hot smoky oil will not cook them well from inside. So put on the flame to medium when it is smoky hot.
Garelu recipe
Vada recipe | Medu vada
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup urad dal (or skinned black gram)
- 1/3 teaspoon Salt (adjust to taste)
- Water Ice Cold , as required
- Oil for deep frying
spices (skip if making for naivedyam)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper corn (crushed coarsely)
- 2 to 3 green chilies (chopped)
- 4 tablespoon onions (chopped)
How to make the recipe
Preparation
- Wash dal several times and soak in lot of water for at least 4 to 5 hrs.
- Drain the water completely and transfer the dal to a mixer grinder jar. If you have a wet grinder, you can use it.
- Sprinkle very little water. Next add salt and start grinding.
- Next scrape off the sides and then grind again.
- Whenever needed sprinkle only as much as 1 ½ tsps. Ice cold water evenly.
- Again continue to grind to a coarse thick batter.
- Sprinkle water. Grind again till the batter looks fluffy and white.
- Transfer this to a bowl. Aerate the batter by beating it with your hand in a clockwise direction for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Test the batter if it is aerated well. Drop a small batter ball in bowl full of water. The ball has to float meaning it is light. This is needed to get fluffy medu vada.
- If the batter doesn’t float well, means either the batter is runny or is not aerated well. Read the notes below to know what to do with runny batter.
- If the batter is in right consistency still it is not floating well. Then beat the batter once more.
- Add crushed pepper, green chilies and onions. Mix everything well.
How to make medu vada
- Heat oil in a deep heavy bottom kadai or pan on a medium heat till hot enough.
- Drop a small amount of batter to check if the oil is hot. The batter raises if the oil is hot enough.
- Dip your fingers in water or oil to moisten your fingers. Water should not be dripping.
- Take small portions of batter. Shape to a ball, slightly flatten with thumb.
- Dip the thumb in water, again no dripping water. Make a hole in the center.
- Gently slide the vada in the hot oil by gently shaking off the fingers.
- Or place the ball on a greased sheet. Flatten it slightly and make a hole in the centre.
- If the oil becomes too hot, regulate the flame to medium.
- Moisten your fingers again. Lift the corner part of the sheet and transfer the vada on to your fingers. Then drop it just by shaking your fingers.
- Fry medu vada till they turn golden on both sides.
- Make them and fry them in batches till you use up all the batter. In between every batch, wait till the oil heats up, if not hot.
- Serve medu vada with chutney or sambar.
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Notes
If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.
More Vada recipes
Batata vada
Masala vada (chana dal vada)
Mixed dal vada
Sabudana vada
Alasanda vada
Preparation for vada recipe
1. Wash and soak dal for at least 4 to 5 hrs. Soaking them for at least 4 hours make the batter fluffy and increases the volume. But if you run short of time, you can soak for 2 hours and make.
2. Grind the dal with salt and very little ice cold water that has to be sprinkled to start off. As and when needed sprinkle evenly about only 1 ½ tsp. water each time. Whether you make in the wet grinder or mixer, the process is same.
3. Scrape off the sides and grind again. The batter will be coarse but must be thick. Sprinkle water.
4. Grind till the batter looks fluffy and white, like you see in the picture.
5. Transfer the batter to a bowl, beat the batter in clock wise direction for 30 seconds. This makes the batter more fluffy and aerated. This is very important. You can skip this step if making the batter in wet grinder.
You can also add a pinch of baking soda, crushed pepper, green chilies and chopped onions if you want like the ones made in hotels. Since I made these for the puja, I did not add any.
6. Take a small bowl filled with water. Take little batter and form a ball, drop it in the water. If aerated well, the batter floats well. Repeat beating if the batter doesn’t float well.
The batter will not float even if the consistency is very thin. Read the notes what to do if the batter becomes runny/thin.
How to make medu vada
7. Heat oil in a deep pan till hot enough. Dip your fingers in water (water should not be dripping from your fingers) Take small portions of this batter. Make a ball then slightly flatten with your thumb.
Next dip your thumb in water, make a hole in the centre. Face your palm towards the oil, drop in the hot oil by shaking your fingers gently. Take care. Change in the color is due to the lighting.
or place the ball on a greased sheet. Flatten it slightly and make a hole in the center. Once the oil is hot enough, reduce the flame to medium. Dip your fingers in water.
Lift the corner part of the sheet and transfer the medu vada on to your fingers. Drop these just by shaking your fingers.
8. Fry on a medium flame till they turn golden. Drain them on a kitchen tissue. Make batches and finish frying till all the batter is used up.
Cool garelu completely and Offer them to the Goddess.
Serve medu vada with coconut chutney.
Sandhya says
Hello. It came out great! Is there anything I can do to make it more crisp? Also, can the dal and be soaked overnight? Thanks!!
swasthi says
Hello Sandya,
Glad to know. Lesser soaking (about 4 hours) & adding lesser water makes them more crisp. We usually don’t soak overnight.
Stutee Mishra says
I’m a beginner at cooking but your steps make it so easy to cook. I tried the medu vada recipe and it came out perfect. Although, I couldn’t really make that perfect hole in the centre, haha.
swasthi says
Hi Stutee,
Sorry forgot to reply you!
Glad to know!. Yes a perfect hole comes out of practice.
🙂
Candice D says
After soaking the Urad Dal and then grinding it, how long can I store it for before frying? I can keep it in the fridge, but does the salt affect it then and make it more watery? Does the batter fluff down, should I beat it again after I take it out from the fridge?
swasthi says
Hi Candice,
I never tried it myself but I know a lot of people refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. Bring it to room temperature before frying. Don’t need to aerate again.
Diana says
Hi, I LOVE Vada and wanted to learn making. But do we really need a grinder here? How does a grinder/wet grinder looks like? Thank you!
swasthi says
Hi Diana
I don’t use a wet grinder for vada. You need a really good blender otherwise the vadas will turn hard. You can check it on amazon
SG says
Hi Swasthi,
Came across your blog while searching for recipes to cook at home during this lockdown. Now you have become our go-to site for any recipe. Now making a point to try out new recipes from your blog every day. Hats off ro your simple and clear instructions. I’m a beginner cook and proud to say that every single recipe that we have tried has turned out perfect n delicious! Thanks a ton for this blog n keep up the great work!
swasthi says
Hello SG,
You are most welcome! So glad to know the recipes are helping. Thanks much for the kind words.
Saba Raza says
Thnx a lot mam….. it was a hit in my family…😍😍😍
swasthi says
Welcome Saba
Glad they turned out good.
Kavitha says
Hi Swasthi,
I am not a beginner and tried this recipe many a times and previously it came out well. But my last 2-3 trails failed even after following this recipe to the T. Vadas are turning hard and I have no clue what is going wrong. Please suggest
swasthi says
Hi Kavitha
I guess it is the dal. Aged dal won’t make good vadas. They turn out hard.
Yesh says
Thank you for the detailed steps. But this sounds like a very complex recipe for me to cook. I want to try with a small quantity and try small vada without holes. Will it be easier this way?
swasthi says
Hi Yesh
Yes you can. If there is too little dal then it may not blend well in the mixie. Try to blend in a small chutney jar. A hole is made in the center so the batter gets cooked well. Since you are a beginner I suggest you use the same batter and make these urad dal bonda. The taste is the same as vada if you skip the rice flour. It is much easier too. Hope this helps.
Yesh says
Thank you very much! Stay safe!
swasthi says
You too stay safe!
MRUDULA MAHABAL says
Which mixer grinder shd i buy for a nice ariated medhuwada batter??
swasthi says
Hi Mrudula,
You can check for Ultra. I bought mine in Hyderabad.
Vada says
look at my name. 🙂
swasthi says
Hi Vada!
Glad to know you! It’s an awesome name. Just googled and got to know Vada is the name of a famous ruler of German origin. Thank you!
Best wishes!!
🙂
Vada says
Sorry for commenting 2 times my comment I made the first time didn’t load till after I made the 2nd one, and I am doing a report on Vadas. If you have any tips that can help then Thank you. No worry I have your link in my presentation.
Thank You,
Vada
swasthi says
Hello Vada!
No Problem! The comments are moderated. They are published only while I reply them. I have mentioned a lot of tips in the post and some in the comments below. Hope all these help you while you work on your report. Thank you!
Vada says
My name is Vada hahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha
swasthi says
Hi Vada!
Ida says
Hi, interesting, thanks for the recipe.
I have one question, can you prepare the batter previous night and keep for breakfast.
swasthi says
Hi Ida,
Yes it can be ground the previous night. I have never made it myself but eaten them a lot of times made with refrigerated batter. They turn out good. Just keep the batter out for some time before you make the vadas.
Savithri Varman says
Well presented and clear instructions for preparation.
swasthi says
Thank you!
Babu says
Very good recipes
Praneeth Kumar Gunda says
I tried this and my wada blasted and spilled the oil on my face 🙁
Only deviation from your steps was to add little more salt after the batter is prepared.
Can you help me understand what caused this??
swasthi says
Hi,
Hope you are alright. I am not sure what would have gone wrong. I have also found out from my near and dear elders what can cause this.
Firstly salt should always be added while blending and not after blending. Not sure if this is the reason. Salt may have created some air bubbles or droplets in the batter.
Secondly another chance could be that any dal particles, green chilli seeds or uncrushed pepper corn can cause the burst.
Thirdly if the oil is not enough then the entire Vada may burst.
Hope to hear that you are alright! I also mailed you immediately after reading your comment.
Regards
Swasthi
Laika says
Can you please tell me which mixer grinder you used to makeep these vadas.
swasthi says
Hi Laika,
In this post I have used national panasonic old model. Currently to make vada batter I am using Ultra mixer grinder.
Vaidehi says
Akka mee garelu super ga unaaei. 2 cups pappu ki enni vadalu avuthai. Nenu wet grinder lo batter ne vesthanu. I can only make small garelu. Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Vaidehi,
Thank you. It depends on the dal. If made in wet grinder 2 cups should give you about 35 garelu. 2 cups is a lot to make the mini garelu. You can make about 50 or even more. You need 1 & 1/2 hours to fry them. If you have a help then it should be fine. Hope this helps.
Archana says
Hi Swasthi,
Love your recipe and the minute details you give us. This is my second trial to make perfect vada. They turned out good in taste and texture. But many were not round and with so many tails. Where did I go wrong? The consistency is almost the same like you showed in the pictures after beating it. Did I need to blend it more? It will be of great help if you mention the quantity of water needed for the batter. TIA
swasthi says
Hi Archana,
You are welcome. if the consistency is even slightly runny you may not get proper shape. Try dipping your fingers in oil and not in water when you transfer the vada to your fingers. This helps the vada to retain its shape. I can only give you an approximate amount of water but not exactly as the amount of water to use depends on the urad dal.
Some kind of dal needs more and some don’t really need so much.
I would say just sprinkle and keep blending. Thanks so much for trying the recipe.
Archana says
Thank you. I will try with the oil trick. Please tell me for how many days can I refrigerate and use the batter.
swasthi says
Archana,
I have never made vada with refrigerated batter but I have eaten a lot of times in friends and relatives homes made with refrigerated batter. They just turn good. I hear that it keeps good for 3 to 4 days.
Leena says
Dear swasthi,
I tried making medu vada yesterday. I was surprised at the quantity of batter I could get with half cup urad dal. The ground the urad in my new wet grinder following your recipe. The batter was very fluffy but my vada drank up so much oil. We could not eat even 2 each. It was literally like eating oil. Please tell me why did my vada turn like that? I followed your recipe correctly. I kept the batter in the fridge, how can I make good vada with it. Please suggest.
swasthi says
Hi Leena,
I haven’t shared the method to make vada batter using wet grinder. Not sure how you ground the lentils. There is a different process for that. As per your comment I understand you have ground the lentils too much. This aerates the batter a lot and makes it extremely light. So they soaked up oil. There is no way you can use the same batter to make vada. You can just soak 1 to 1.5 cups rice for 3 hours. Drain and blend. Add it to the batter and ferment. Use it to make idli. I will update the post for wet grinder method soon. Hope this helps.
Hannah says
Hi ma’am, I tried the same way how u said but it turned out very hard, I really wanted to know the mistake so that I can improve myself
swasthi says
Hi Hannah,
There are 2 reasons for the vada to turn hard. First one – Not blending the dal properly and second one is frying them on a low flame or frying in oil that is not hot enough. The batter should turn light after beating and float when you drop it in water. If you have followed this step correctly and still they turn hard then it could be that you fried in oil that is not hot enough. Hope this helps
Salma says
I have gone through many receipe software yours.They are all simple and looks yummy.
I will definitely try some of them soon and will give you the feedback.
Thanks for your efforts.
swasthi says
Hi salma
you are welcome. yes do try. Thank you so much
Yash Rawat says
Wow! great… I will try this on coming Sunday.
swasthi says
Thank you. Yes do try them.