Tirupati vada recipe video – Whole urad dal vada recipe with Video. I am sure most of you wouldn’t have thought of making these at home. Tirupati vada are made with whole urad dal, pepper, cumin and salt. These are distributed to the devotees as prasadam in Tirupati Balaji temple. Some time ago I happened to come across this recipe on youtube and was excited to try it during a festival.
I thought of sharing it here during Navratri but somehow couldn’t do it. In the earlier days, these whole urad dal vada were made in some Telugu speaking homes and were considered to be healthy since they are high in protein, fiber and are fried in desi ghee.
These were given to children and people recovering from sickness to provide a good amount of nutrition. Whole urad dal is said to be one of the lentils with highest protein content. Since ghee has the highest smoke point these are healthier than any other vada or deep fried foods. These whole urad dal vada do not soak up oil due the thick consistency of the ground mixture.
You may also want to check this collection of 100 Diwali sweets recipes and these diwali snacks recipes.
For more vada recipes you may like to check
Medu vada
Rava vada
Masala vada
Mix dal vada
Cabbage vada
Sabudana vada
Tirupati vada recipe below
Tirupati vada recipe | Whole urad dal vada | How to make tirupati vada
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1.5 cups whole urad dal / black gram
- 1 to 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 to 1.5 tsp pepper
- Salt as needed
- 2 to 3 tbsp water
- ¼ cup Ghee / clarified butter for deep frying
How to make the recipe
- Wash black gram a few times and soak in lot of water for 4 to 5 hours. Drain it in a colander.
- Make a fine powder of cumin and pepper along with salt.
- Add dal and blend without water. Then sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsps water and blend to a coarse paste.
- The mixture will be thick and sticky.
- Grease a foil or banana leaf or clean moist cloth for making the vada. Dip your fingers in water.
- Divide the dough to 12 equal parts and shape them to balls.
- Place them on the cloth and spread them to thin vada with moist hands. Since the dough is sticky it sticks up to the hands. Make sure the vada are very thin else they will not cook well.
- Heat ghee in a kadai or fry pan. Transfer the vadas to your greased fingers and drop in hot ghee.
- Flip them and fry on both the sides on a medium flame until golden and crisp.
- If the urad dal vadas puff up then press them down with the spatula.
- Drain them on a kitchen tissue.
- Tirupati vada are ready.
Video
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
If you are new to cooking, follow my detailed step by step photo instructions for best results.
You can find the original recipe here on youtube
Santhi says
We feel soaking of whole urad dal (with skin) need to be done for 8-12 hours, 4-5 hours sufficient for split urad dal.
swasthi says
Hi Santhi,
I did try with overnight soaking but the taste was completely different. The texture is great when the dal is partially soaked. Thanks for rating the recipe.
Santhi says
We feel soaking of whole urad dal need to be done for 8-12 hours, 4-5 hours not sufficient for split urad dal.