UZHUNU VADA

                                  

This was a tea-time snack my mother made when we were expecting guests. She soaks the urad dal for 30 minutes and grinds it in the mixie. 

INGREDIENTS 

1. urad dal-1 cup
2. 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
3. ginger-small piece
4. chilies-2 small, slit and  seeds removed and chopped
5. small onion-chopped(1/2 cup)(60 gms.)
6. curry leaf-1 sprig
7. 1/4 tsp cumin powder(optional)
8. salt to taste(a little less than 3/4 tsp )
9. water for grinding(1/2 cup to 3/4 cup)
10. oil for frying

METHOD

Making the batter

• Soak urad dal fenugreek seeds for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can soak this overnight, also.
  
• Wash and drain the soaked urad dal and fenugreek mixture. 
• The aim is to grind the urad dal without using much water. Use the chutney jar of the mixie to grind. That's the most efficient to grind the dal without much water.
• Put a handful of the urad dal mixture in the mixie. Grind without water.
  
  
  
  




• Now open the jar and 1 Tbsp of water. Grind again.
  

• Add another handful of the washed and drained urad dal mixture. Grind again.
  
  

• Continue doing this until you have reached the mixie's maximum capacity and can grind no more. Add water only if the batter is not being ground properly.
  

• Transfer the batter to a bowl. Do this for the remaining urad dal mixture.
  




• Add sufficient salt. Now, using your hands, whip the batter gently so that the batter becomes light and fluffy. Do this while sitting down and whip for at least 5 minutes. 
• Add the green chilies, ginger, onions, and curry leaves before frying. Mix well, but be sure to be gentle so that you do not lose the air that has been incorporated into the batter by whipping the batter for 5 minutes. 
  
  
  

Making the vadas

• Heat a cheena chatti(wok) till warm, and pour in the oil. Let the oil become hot.
  
• In the meantime, set up an assembly line, with the bowl with the water, a bowl filled with water (used for dipping and wetting your hands), and a plate lined with paper towels, where the fried vadas can be put.
  
  
  
  
  
• The oil is hot enough to fry the vadas when a drop of the batter is dropped in the oil, and the batter sinks to the bottom and comes up to the top after  2 seconds.
• Wet your hands and take a dollop of the batter in your hands, wet your thumb, make a hole in the center, and put it in the oil.

• Fry on one side for about 2 minutes, turn the vadas over, and fry for another 2 minutes. (Control the oil temperature by switching between medium and high).
• Drain the vadas onto the paper-lined plate.
  

• Serve warm with chutney ketchup or sambar.
  

NOTES

• Eureka Moment: The idea of whipping crossed my mind as I thought about how I make Sponge cakes or cakes without a leavening agent are my forte; I like how the egg whites can be whipped with sugar till stiff and create the sponginess just with egg white whipping. So, I decided to try that same whipping on the urad dal batter. This was my Eureka moment, my invention, and it worked. Is whipping your hands really necessary? Yes. The texture is really different when the batter is whipped up. It's equivalent to adding soda powder to the batter. The vadas are really crispy on the outside and airy on the inside. The vadas do not shrink in size when they are made with the whipped batter.
• Makes 15-18 medium-sized vadas.
• The batter need not be ground into a fine paste. A  broken dal here and there is ok.
• If too much water has been added and it's difficult to hold the vada shape, add 1 tbsp of maida or whole wheat flour. Add 1 Tbsp until the batter is thick enough to hold its shape.
• The batter can be made ahead and kept in the fridge. This also helps to thicken the batter.
• I have tried fermenting the batter and then frying the vadas. But it tends to drink a lot of oil while frying. So, I stopped doing that.
• A shallow fry pan can also be used, but a wok is better to hold the shape of the vadas. 
• After the vadas are drained onto a kitchen towel, transfer them to a cooling rack. This will keep it more crispy. Keeping it on the paper towel for long will make it soggy.
  

• Salting the vadas: For the recipe mentioned above, start with 1/2 tsp salt. Taste the batter after mixing in the salt and if the batter still tastes raw, add 1/8 tsp more and check the taste. If a good taste is coming, it's the right amount, and you can stop adding more salt. 
• Don't bother too much about getting the salt right. If the chutney is perfectly salted and tasty, even if the vada is less salty, it would not really matter.