What is Vada?

Vada are a kind of deep fried savory snacks mostly made with lentils, spices and herbs. The Word “Vada” may have been derived from the Sanskrit Term “vataka”. According to the popular Indian Food Historian, KT Achaya, vada dates back to ancient India, as far as 500 BC with mentions of the food as soaked and ground pulses, fried in ghee. Till day, traditionally made vada are offered to Deities/ Gods in Temples and Hindu homes during puja. Indian cuisine is a melange of different regional cuisines so you will find many kinds of vada across India. Vada is basically a kind of fried snack known by different names such as bada, wada or bora, with recipes varying by region, community and home. They can be made with lentils, vegetables, grains and even with tapioca pearls. Masala vada, medu vada, Maddur vada, batata vada, Dahi vada are some of the popularly known in Indian Cuisine.

About Medu Vada

Medu vada are traditional South Indian fritters made with urad dal (black lentils), spices and curry leaves. “Medu” is a Kannada word meaning “Soft” and “Vada” are “crispy Indian fritters”. So medu vada, also sometimes simply mentioned as “VADA” are essentially soft from inside yet crisp on the outside. Known by different names such as Garelu in Telugu, uddina vade, medu vade in Kannada, ulundhu vadai in Tamil and uzhunnu vada in Malayalam, they are made and relished across the South Indian states. Growing up, medu vada aka Garelu was a staple in our home as my mom would offer these to Goddess Lakshmi and Durga during Friday Pooja. We Telugu speaking people also make them for an offering during Varalakshmi vratam, Gouri puja, Diwali and Durga Navratri. In fact our festivals are incomplete without making vada since we also serve them as a part of the festive meal. Depending on the region and family traditions various spices and herbs are added to the batter. South Indian foods like masala dosa, idli, rava dosa, medu vada served with coconut chutney and sambar are hugely popular even in the restaurants across the world.

My Recipe

My traditional recipe to make these medu vada comes from my Mom and I have also shared all her tips and tricks to make them perfectly crispy, fluffy and delicious every time. Making perfectly crisp and fluffy vadas at home is easy if you follow the recipe without missing out the minute details I have mentioned in this post. The recipe involves only three steps – soaking lentils, grinding them to make fluffy batter and lastly shaping small portions of the batter & frying. Traditionally medu vada batter is ground in a manual stone grinder but a lot of us also grind it in an electric mixer grinder/ blender or a wet grinder. Making fluffy batter is the key to crisp and fluffy vadas. So you need a good strong and powerful blender that can grind your lentils really well to a fluffy texture. If you use a regular low watt grinder you may end up with hard and dense vadas and even more your blender may break down. The basic medu vada is made with just urad dal, water and salt. To flavor them ingredients like crushed black pepper, green chilies, ginger, cumin seeds, curry leaves and onions are used. At home we do not add any other ingredients if making for Naivedyam. This is a tradition we have followed. Other times my mom would add all those aromatic ingredients and sometimes onions were replaced with fresh shredded cabbage which really goes well in these fritters. To make perfectly crisp and fluffy vadas do check out my faqs, pro tips and notes which I shared below. More Vada recipesBatata vadaMasala vada (chana dal vada)Mixed dal vadaSabudana vadaAlasanda vada

How To Make Medu Vada (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

  1. Add 1 cup urad dal to a large bowl and wash it well rubbing with your hand. Rinse it well at least 3 to 4 times & drain the water. This removes the white powdery substance on the urad dal.
  2. Add fresh water and soak it for at least 4 to 5 hrs. Soaking them for at least 5 hours makes the batter fluffy and increases in volume. But if you do not have so much time, you can soak for 3 hours but the texture is not the same. If using organic dal you can soak for 8 hours with good results. While the dal soaks, keep about 1 cup of water in the refrigerator to chill.

Make batter

  1. Later discard the water completely from the dal & give a good rinse. Drain the water completely.
  2. Add the dal to a grinder or blender jar along with 1/3 teaspoon salt.
  3. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice cold water to start off. Blend for a short time about 25 to 30 seconds.
  4. Next scrape the sides and the bottom to release the dal that’s stuck.
  5. As and when needed sprinkle evenly about only 1 ½ teaspoon water each time. Whether you make in the wet grinder or blender, the process is same. Scrape off the sides and grind again. The batter will be coarse but must be thick. Sprinkle water as needed again.
  6. Grind till the batter looks fluffy, thick, lightly aerated and white in color. (like you see in the picture). Ensure your blender does not become warm or hot while you grind as this will give a bitter taste.

Consistency of Batter

  1. Check if the batter is done correctly. Take a small bowl filled with water. Take little batter and form a ball, drop it in the water. If the consistency & texture of the batter is light, the batter floats well. The batter will not float if the consistency is very thin. Read the notes below what to do if the batter becomes runny/thin.
  2. Transfer the batter to a bowl, beat the batter with your hand in clock wise direction for 30 to 40 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.
  3. To make the hotel style medu vada, you can add a tiny pinch of baking soda, half teaspoon crushed pepper, 1 to 2 chopped green chilies, 1 tablespoon fine chopped ginger, 1 sprig curry leaves and 2 to 3 tbsps chopped onion or fresh coconut. Since I made these for the puja, I did not add any to half of the batter. To the other half I added everything else but not soda. Mix the batter well.

How To Shape Medu Vada

  1. On a medium flame, heat oil in a deep pan. Ensure there is enough oil in the kadai so your medu vada floats and fries well.
  2. Method 1: Dip your fingers in water (water should not be dripping from your fingers).
  3. Take small portions of this batter to your fingers. Make a ball.
  4. Slightly flatten the ball with your thumb. Next make a hole in the center. If the batter sticks, dip your thumb in water. If you are new to making medu vada, follow the second method below or practice this a few times before frying. I always make these following the second method.
  5. Before sliding the medu vada to the oil, ensure it is hot enough. To check, drop a small portion of batter to it. The batter must rise without browning a lot. This is the right temperature.
  6. Method 2: Place the ball on a greased sheet or greased parchment paper. Flatten it slightly and make a hole in the center.
  7. Once the oil is hot enough, ensure the flame is to medium. Dip your fingers in water. Please ensure there is no excess water dripping from your hand. Lift the side or corner part of the sheet with your left hand and transfer the medu vada on to your fingers (right hand).
  8. Face your palm towards the oil, drop in the hot oil by shaking your fingers gently. Take care. Drop these just by shaking your fingers. Gently slide a few.
  9. Fry medu vada on a medium flame till they turn golden & crisp. Towards the end if you like them deep golden, fry them on a slightly higher flame for 2 mins.
  10. When done, remove them to a colander. Shape and fry medu vadas in batches till all the batter is used up. We offer garelu to the Goddess first. Serve medu vada with coconut chutney & tiffin sambar. Here I have the picture of both – plain & with spices & onions. We offer only the plain ones during pooja.

Faqs

Can I make vada batter without wet grinder?

In hotels & restaurants, medu vada batter is made 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.

Pro Tips & Notes

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Recipe Card

Medu Vada Recipe was first published in July 2014. Updated and republished in June 2022.