Methu vada... Urad dal vadai

Methu vadai ... aaaha the best thing ever. Love them a lot and not only just me but all in our family. Cant make it very often coz of its high-calorific values though ;) but festival and auspicious days are no excuse. Any auspicious day and vadai+payasam make their way into the kitchen menu.. Now that is good... nope veryyyyyy good as we can enjoy with an excuse at hand 

I always make lots of them as I get to share them with my friends around and secondly we sure like leftovers of these - yes leftovers. We love dahi vadas/curd vadas. They are so yummy too and I make them all the time with the leftover vadas. So now you know why we need lots of them in the making

Every home has a warm welcome for these soft yet crispy textured fluffy fellas that has been in the traditional menu for ages now. This time I had a request from my friend asking for my secret recipe curious about how they turn out perfect every time. Oh no .. there is no secret as we all know and better fact - this is the easiest among things to do. Still she did not believe me and wanted me share the recipe with her. So here we go dear - A recipe shared just for you ;)

Serves... 10 ppl

Serve option... Hot with coconut chutney

This is what u'll need....

Urad dal - 1 cup
Green chillies - 3 nos
Curry leaves - handful
Onion 1
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Wash and soak urad dal for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs
• Transfer the urad dal to a grinder and grind till very smooth. When grinding add very little water each to help the process. Dont over water the mixture. Also dont put all the water at the same time. Add them at intervals, scraping off the grinder sides once in a while. Once the mixture is nice and fluffy scoop it out into a working bowl

• Chop onions into small pieces. Also cut green chillies and curry leaves into small pieces as much as you would need

• Just before making the vadas toss in the onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Add some salt. Mix all the things together until everything blends smooth

• Meanwhile heat oil in a pan and let it rest on medium flame while you can get things ready 
• Everyone has their own way to make the vadas at this stage. I use whichever way I think of at that minute :) Sometime I make it in my palm, sometime I use a plastic sheet and sometimes I use a small banana leaf. This time I used a banana leaf as my base to hold the dough/batter

• Wet the banana leaf a little with a few drops of water. This will help the vada slide off the leaf easily. Pick a little batter in your hand and place it on the banana leaf pressing it a little to give it a circle shape. Then make a little hole in the middle so that it looks like a doughnut. Slide off the vada into the other hand and then slowly drop it in oil. Make a few more the same way and keep adding 

• Let it cook for a few seconds till golden brown and then flip it over to cook equally on the other side too

• Voila!!!!!... its ready to be out of the oil and into some paper towels. Let it rest for a few seconds and then it is perfect to be served your favorite way

• Serve it with your favorite chutney and enjoy when hot

Note:

• Add salt just before making the vadas as salt tends to make the batter watery
• Careful when adding salt - always try to be on the minimal end as even the slightest extra pinch will make it taste salty. Use much less than what you you would use for other items
• Soak dal atleast for 1 1/2 hours for best results
• When grinding, add water little by little to get a fluffy batter