Medhu Vadai or Ulundhu Vadai makes for a filling breakfast or evening tiffin served with side dishes like chutneys & sambar. We make medhu vadai also as a part of the wedding feast, luncheons & on special occasions like Diwali, Varalakshmi Vratam, Pongal, Navratri for neivedhyam.
In many hotels across South India, they serve ulundhu vadai along with Idli, Ven Pongal, Coconut Chutney, Tiffin Sambar, Rava Khichdi & Rava Kesari as a mini breakfast platter.
I have always been in awe of the vadai that we get in hotels. They make & serve such huge medhu vadai that I used to wonder how they were able to get that size and make them stay that way even after they get cold.
Follow the tips, tricks & procedures to the T & I'm sure you will also be able to successfully make hotel style medhu vadai right in the comfort of your home.
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About
We make medhu vadai by soaking urad dal in water for 2 to 3 hours, grinding it to a smooth & thick batter, to which finely chopped vegetables & salt are added & mixed.
The batter that is ground is then shaped into vadai & then deep-fried in hot oil. It is usually served with coconut chutney & sambar.
This vadai will remain crunchy on the outside, soft & porous inside. They also consume very little oil while deep frying.
These also do not sag or become hard as they cool down and maintain their puffed-up shape.
In case you want to make these for neivedhyam avoid adding onions, green chillies, and ginger to the batter.
Just add curry leaf and freshly ground black pepper to make the vadai which also tastes good.
Ingredients
Urad Dal: Whole white, de-skinned Urad dal is used.
Vegetables: Onion, green chillies, ginger & curry leaves are used.
Oil: Use refined groundnut oil for deep frying.
Instructions
To make Medhu Vadai,
1. Soak urad dal in water for 2 to 3 hours & grind to a smooth batter. When you drop ½ teaspoon batter in a bowl of water it should float on top.
2. Transfer batter to a bowl.
3. To this batter, add chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves & ginger.
4. Add salt & mix well.
5. Beat it well with your hands so that batter gets aerated well.
6. Dip your fingers in water & scoop lemon-sized batter.
7. With your thumb poke a hole in the middle.
8. Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep fry pan.
9. Gently slip the shaped vadai into the hot oil.
10. Remove it from oil once it becomes brown.
11. Continue to cook 2 to 3 vadais at a time in the hot oil.
Crisp & crunchy medhu vadai is ready to serve.
Cook Extra Crispy Vadai
I learned this tip from one of my Muslim friends in whose home, I ate one of the best textured, crispy & crunchy medhu vadai.
For every measure of urad dal, you soak & grind, you need to add ¼ measure of softened unsalted butter to the ground batter & beat it well. Then add chopped onions, salt, etc., mix once again & then make vadai.
The resulting vadai is a golden brown colored, crispy & crunchy vadai. You can also shape this batter well into vadais.
Make Medhu Vadai Extra Tasty
Want to make aromatic & extra tasty vadai, then while grinding batter, just before removing add some chopped onions & green chilies & grind it all together before removing the batter.
This will give you the best-tasting vadai, but the downside is, this batter will drink more oil while deep frying & also you need to make vadai immediately as resting the batter will make it watery & runny, making it impossible to shape.
Recipe Notes
Keep the flame steady at medium throughout cooking. Avoid cooking the vadas over high flame. This will make them burn on the outside and uncooked in the center.
While making for children replace green chilies with crushed black peppercorns.
Make the vadas immediately after adding onion and salt, else the batter will become runny.
Nutrition Profile
This recipe is
- Dairy-Free
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut Free
- Soy-Free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Top Tip
For best shaped & tasty Medhu Vadai, grind the batter in a wet grinder. If not possible, only then use a mixie jar.
If grinding the batter in a mixie jar, transfer the soaking urad dal bowl to the fridge 1 hour before grinding. This will prevent the heat from the machine to transfer to the batter.
Use a small deep fry pan & fill it ¾th with oil to deep fry. Using less oil will make the vadai stick to the bottom & burn. Cook 2 or 3 vadai at a time depending on the pan size.
FAQ's on Medhu Vadai
If you are a beginner & find it difficult to grind the batter with just 2 to 3 tablespoon water or by mistake end up adding more water, the batter will become runny, loose & impossible to shape.
Adding cornflour or corn starch absorbs the excess water, preventing the batter from becoming runny. Now you can shape the medhu vadai easily. Do not add more than necessary.
Though rice flour also absorbs the excess water, it tends to harden upon cooling. So medhu vadai made after adding rice flour tends to harden upon cooling. This means the vadai becomes hard instead of remaining crisp. So avoid adding more rice flour.
The ground batter should be refrigerated immediately after grinding. It will remain fresh for 3 to 4 days.
Do not add any other ingredients to the batter before refrigerating, not even salt. Let the batter thaw to room temperature before making vadai.
Related Recipes
See more Deep Fried Recipes
Recipe
Medhu Vadai Recipe - Ulundhu Vadai
Ingredients
- 1 cup Urad Dal
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Cornflour optional
- ¼ cup Onion chopped
- 2 teaspoon Green chilies chopped
- ½ teaspoon Ginger minced
- 1 Curry leaf sprig chopped
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
Soaking Dal
- Take urad dal in a bowl and rinse 2 to 3 times. Add 2 to 3 cups water & let it soak for 2 to 3 hours.
- Drain the water & set this aside. Do not discard the water as we will use it to grind the dal & to rinse the grinder after grinding.
Grinding batter
- Rinse the wet grinder or mixie jar first. The wetness will give enough friction & help grind the batter quickly.
- Add the drained urad dal to the mixer grinder. Run the machine & use only 2 to 3 tablespoon water that is used for soaking dal.
- To grind it well, dip your hand in the water and run it along the sides of the wet grinder for even grinding & to prevent any grits from sticking to the sides. Do not add more water but keep repeating this process to grind the batter to a smooth & buttery consistency.
Getting right batter consistency
- When you scoop the batter into your palm and hold it upside down facing the floor, the batter should not fall from your palm. It should be that thick.
- When you drop about ½ teaspoon of batter in a bowl of water it should float on top and not sink. The batter should be that light.
- When the batter is done & just before removing, sprinkle the cornflour from the sides and let the grinder run for another 1-2 min for the cornflour to get mixed well with the batter. This step is optional & perfect for beginners who are new to grinding vadai batter.
- Switch off the wet grinder & scoop all the batter into a bowl.
- Refrigerate for ½ to 1 hour. I usually place the bowl in the freezer for 10 min. This step is optional.
- Using the soaked urad dal water, rinse the wet grinder & transfer into a bowl. Do not discard this water as we will use it to dip our fingers while shaping the vadai.
Shaping Vadai
- Heat oil in a deep kadai or fry pan for deep frying & keep the flame on medium heat.
- Take the batter out of the fridge and add the chopped onion, green chili, curry leaves, grated ginger, salt and beat it well. This is to aerate the batter.
- Dip your hand & scoop a little batter with four fingers & make a ball. Using your thumb poke a hole in the center.
- If you find this difficult to do, take a plantain leaf or a clean plastic sheet. Wipe it with water & place the ball on it & pat it gently. Dip your index finger in water and make a hole in the center. Again wet your hands and shape the sides evenly.
Deep frying Medhu Vadai
- Gently slip the shaped vadai from your fingers into the hot oil. If shaping it on a sheet or leaf, lift it & invert the vadai onto your hand & then slide the vadai smoothly into the oil from the sides.
- You can cook 2-3 vadas at a time depending on the size of the kadai. Do not overcrowd as they will stick with each other.
- The vadai will first sink to the bottom. Wait for few seconds before gently poking with a ladle. It will then rise to the surface. Turn them after 1 or 2 mins and let them cook. When cooked to golden brown remove it to a plate.
- Medhu Vadai is ready. Serve hot with coconut chutney & sambar.
Santhi Stanley
Hi your recipe was awesome.I tried it out and it tasted fantastic,crisp and soft as well,this is the first time I'm getting good results and great appreciation from my family.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe..
Radhika
Hi Santhi, Thank you very much for your lovely and positive feedback. I'm so happy the recipe worked out for you. Keep visiting !!!
Parvathi
Hi Radhika
This was the first time I was trying out these vadas. My son loves them. my batter was just fine and thick when I ground it. I used just about a small teaspoon of water. It was fine until I refrigerated it. When I took it out after 30 minutes it was watery. I had a sinking feeling. I just couldn't
Proceed further. What do you think went wrong. What if I weren't to refrigerate it?
Radhika
Hi Parvathi, If you weren't to refrigerate the batter, of course ou can immediately make vadas. Refrigeration is supposed to thicken the dough and not make it watery. I believe you had added salt to the batter and stored it and that's why it turned watery. I've never had that problem as I always make the batter, the day before and refrigerate and make vadas the next day.
Barbara
I prepared it according to ur said recipe. What can I say , it came out so well. Thank u so very much for such a perfect recipe , which was soft and crispy .
Radhika
thank you so much for the feed back Barbara. So happy that it came out perfect for you.
MANE ADIGE
hi can i use corn starch what would be the proportion pls.. thanks for the recipe.
Anonymous
hi awesome photography...can i add corn starch, ...? what would be the proportion?..thanks for this recipe
i want to try today for my husband's birthday.
Hotels in indore
Wow! I am really impressed by the way you detailed out everything. It is really going to help me a lot. Thanks for sharing your thoughts so clearly.
Hotels in indore
I have been through several posts on this very subject but the satisfactory information that I found here is something that all other blogs are missing.
Anonymous
Have tried.....it was perfect....Thanks
Anonymous
Must i use baking powder? Thks
Anonymous
use soda
Shailaja
Hi,
Can you please provide a picture of the cup you used to measure the urad dal. Also, mention how many tablespoons of corn flour you added for this cup of dal.
Thanks
Ushnish Ghosh
Dear Radhika .
How are you? Landed from FB. I was chilling in Sahara in Apr 2012 , so missed this great recipe. Scared to explore what all I have missed . ha ha
Like you, I can eat Medu Vada, days in days out,with Sambar, Rasham, or right out off the frying pan.....
Never used corn flour before ..cant wait to try ..I use a dash of rice flour ( learnt from you all southern friends) to give that surface crunch ...please tell me on a message , the use of rice flour vis-a vis corn flour ....for most iother batter for frying , I use a combo of rice & corn flour with the main base of Maida or besan as the case may be.. I am excited to try the corn flour ..
Have a nice week ahead
Radhika
Billu Bhai, Thanks for trying out and your feedback. Keep visiting...
BilluBhai
Tried it and worked great
But missed the part
adding onion and salt else the batter will become runny.
and it become runny i can't even shape it so i prepared it as bhajiya / pakoda no problem taste still great... like hotel
Shri
The vadas look perfect and delicious. Thankyou for sharing the tips too; I would not have thought of corn flour mainly because it might 'harden' butif this amount works, wonderful!
Anonymous
Thank you so much for posting and sharing the secret. I made this over the weekend and it turned out just like in hotels. perfectly shaped. I had so far never been able to make a decent vada but thanks to you now I can.
Radhika
Thanks for trying out. Glad you enjoyed it.
Square Meals
Thank you for posting this recipe. Until this time, I had never really gotten the hang of making perfectly shaped vadas. This recipe was pretty foolproof.
Aparna from Square Meals
Radhika
Thank you Aparna. Yes this recipe is fool proof indeed.
Square Meals
I tried these vadas and they came out amazingly well. I had never really gotten the hang of making perfectly shaped vadas. Thanks for this recipe.
Aparna from Square Meals
anusha praveen
corn flour is the secret huh?? great piece of info radhi and vadai romba pramadham
Magic of Spice
Wow, these are fantastic!
Happy New Year!
Rasi
the vadas look perfect radhika.. wish u a very happy new year.. I struggle to make the hole in the vada's & corn flour is also new to me.. if i use a blender to grind the vadas.. can i get the right consistency.. it kinda becomes hard to grind..
sojo
that looks so beautiful...
Ramya
Thanks for sharing the secret ingredient:-) I always add rice flour and they turn out hard! The vadas look crispy and yum yum!
Shobha Kamath
The vadas look so crispy and nice ! Very much tempted to have one!
Chitra
Good one. never tried addimg cornflour. will try for sure 🙂
simran
these look simply amazing!......great tip about the cornflour..i never knew!thank you so much for sharing....i also didn't know that we shoul cool the batter down first..maybe that why my vadas got a little oily at times.
Nirmala's kitchen
wow!!!Crispy vadas Feel like having one!!!!!!
San
Stunning vadas to drool. They look real crunchy and fluffy radhika.
Roshni
The vadai looks so crispy radhika.... mouth watering
halal foodie
vadas look delicious, thanks for sharing your tips
Manasi
These vadas are super tempting!Adding cornflour is new to me. I love dunking them in pping hot Rasam or sambar and enjoying them!
Ah! who cares about guilt at that stage 🙂
Wonderful vadas.
radha
Superb. So well made. All of the same size and shape. Perfect.
The Yogi Vegetarian
Just one word, dear... YUM! 🙂
Priya
Super crispy vadas, never know that we can add cornflour in this vada batter,thanks for sharing Radhika..
Shanthi
wow..photos are very attractive....
Shanthi
wow.photos are very attractive...
Vardhini
Vadai looks tempting and they have puffed up well too.
Vardhini
easyfoodsmith
We are a family who is crazy about south Indian cuisine. The medhu vadai looks perfect. Your close up shots are so tempting, I almost felt like grabbing a few out from the screen!
Rashida shaikh
Picture is only telling how much tastier it would be. Thank you for sharing the secret tips.
Ambika
The Vadai looks perfect and just like out of a restaurant Radhika!!! Amazing, I also add cornflour, makes the vadai nice and crispy!!
Sarah
aaah... Corn flour is the secret ingredient?! I would have never guessed! I tried experimenting with rice flour but ended up with rock hard vadas.... 😛 And i had almost declared myself a failure at making these beauties.... thanks for this informative post.... Though I also soak the dal overnight... and leave it to rise for a couple of hours after grinding.... esp since i use my usual blender for the grinding process...
Ansh
Those are some great tips. and the vadas look divine. Thanks for sharing the recipe and the tips.
Hema
Even I do the same way Radhika but I use rice flour, why do you stress on the corn flour, I thought both rice flour and cornflour did the same thing to the vadas, make it crispier, don't mistake me dear, I really want to know..
Radhika
I too first used to add rice flour like my Mom but rice flour tends to harden when deep fried like it makes the murukkus / chaklis. But with cornflour it never hardens but yet crisp.
Raji
Perfect vadas Radhika....really liked your technique of adding corn flour..thanks a bunch for linking this to my event.
soundararajan selvam
Lovely - thanks- learnt from you about cornflour and keeping in refrigerator before deep frying - i will try my best
soundararajan selvam
lovely, thanks for those points- adding corn flour and have to keep it in refrigerator before deep frying.
Kaveri Venkatesh
Very crunchy and tempting vadas....Adding cornflour is new to me..will try next time.
Hope you had a good New Year celebratoin
Anonymous
Incredible looking vadas, Thanx ever so much for the step by step instructions to grind the batter, have tried plenty of times but unable to get the shape with the hole:( Hope I get it right this time 🙂
Farah
lovely description... easy to understand.
iv used ground rice instead of cornflour and it makes it crisp! but i shall definitely try ur version !
Shobha
The vadas look so tempting..amazing pics...making me hungry.
Charu Srivastava
yummm d vadas luk so tempting....link it to my event teatime !!!
the mad
Wow this is a great tip. Even I used to wonder about the Hotel brought vadais. Thanks.
Meena
hmm looks yummy. its not easy and i know consistency has to be right. and err u changed ur blog template it seems
looks totally differnt here
Uma
I love methu vada.... Is this is secret behind alltime crisp and softness behind hotel vada? Pictures are killing radhika.
Jay
wow..totally irresistable..nice presentation radhika..
btw..glad you & your loved ones enjoyed gobi pulav recipe and your comments are truly inspiring..TQ ..:)
wishing u a fantastic new yr too..:)
Maayeka
Awesome !!!perfectly shaped,super crisp,and so tempting..loved the recipe..very well done dear!!
Anjana
uma shankar
vadai looks superb feel like grabbing one!