Urad Dal - Vada (Medu)

We’re heading rapidly towards the end of our Vegetarian Alphabet experiment, so ‘U’ worked well with Urad Dal Vada. These are effectively savoury Doughnuts made from Black Lentils (Urad Dal). Very tasty as a side with a curry…..

Ingredients:-

140g of Urad Dal (Black Lentils)
¼ of an Onion, diced
A thumb nail sized piece of Ginger, minced
1 Green Chilli, finely diced
1 Tsp of Cumin Seeds
2 Curry Leaves, finely chopped
A pinch of Baking Powder
Water to make the dough
Salt & Pepper

Method:-

(1) Soak the Urad Dal for at lease 5 hours and rinse.
(2) In a blender add the Urad Dal, Salt, Baking Powder and Water.
(3) Blend for 30 seconds and scrape the sides down.
(4) Add a little more Water and pulse repeatedly until you have a fluffy but think dough.
(5) Transfer to a bowl and mix the remaining ingredients by hand.
(6) Form into Doughnut shapes by hand.
(7) Heat a fryer to 170c.
(8) Fry individually until they float and drain on kitchen paper.