Indian savoury doughnut/vada

Vigna mungo, known as urad, urad dal, black matpe bean, black gram, black lentil [not to be confused with the much smaller true black lentil]. The product sold as "white lentil" is the same lentil with the black skin removed.

Vada is a traditional South Indian food known from antiquity. Although they are commonly prepared at home, Vadas are as well a typical street food in India. They are usually a morning food, but in street stalls and in railway stations, as well as inside the Indian Railways, they are available as a snack all through the day.

This is never the main course and is had as a light snack or on the side of another dish and usually not separately as a meal. Vadas are preferably eaten freshly fried, while still hot and crunchy and is served with a variety of dips ranging from Sambar (rasam) to chutney to curd.

Ingredients for making vada:

Urad Dal (black gram skin removed) 2 cups.
Onion finely chopped 1
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp.

Green Chilies finely chopped 2-3
Salt to taste

Baking Soda ¼ tsp.

Curry leaves chopped 2tsp.

Preparation of vada:

• Wash and soak dal (overnight).
• Grind them coarsely in a blender, like a thick paste.
• Now add onions, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves, salt and baking powder and mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan or kadhai.
• Deep fry a spoonful of batter till golden.
• Serve with chutney as a breakfast or sambar or rasam as a meal.

Note: try out making Vadas like a donut/disc shape, but this is very difficult and very tricky. No problem if you can’t make it into disk shape let it be in any shape its taste doesn’t change.