Uzhunnu Vada

This is a popular dish of south India. It is taken for breakfast and also as a tea time snack. A perfect vada has crispy outer crust and a soft and fluffy inside
. It is basically an easy recipe but it may take few trial and errors to master the technique of making perfectly shaped vadas. Well am still on my way to those perfectly shaped ones, but I manage a few good ones from every batch.

There are a few thing to remember while making vadas. The first is the consistency of the batter, the batter should be as thick as possible. The consistency can be adjusted by adding rice flour but it is better to use less water while grinding and obtain a thick batter.
Next is the method of shaping the vadas, here too the consistency of the batter is important ,a thick batter makes the shaping easy. First dip you palm in a bowl of water, then pinch of a lemon sized ball of batter with your wet hand. Cup your hand and gently shake the hand so that the dough rolls inside the hand and is shaped almost like a ball ( not perfect though ). Now straighten your palm and bring the ball to rest on your four fingers, with the thumb of the same hand make a hole in the center. For frying , hold your palm above oil and gently flip your palm upside down, the batter will easily fall into the oil.
Even though this is the correct method, am a bit scared of hot oil, so what I do is, after shaping the batter I sprinkle a few drop of water on my fingers near the base of the batter with the other hand and  wiggle my fingers a bit, the batter will easly slides off your fingers into the oil. Even this method needs practice to get it right, but trust me both methods are not difficult.

And the last one is the temperature of the oil ,try to maintain the flame in medium, fluctuating between medium high and medium low accordingly so that there is time for the center to get cooked. Best served will coconut chutney.

Ingredients

• Urad dal  - 1 glass ( I measured with a steel tumbler)
• Rice flour  - 1/4 cup ( not finely powdered)
• Onion  -  1 large (chopped into small cubes)
• Green chilies  -  2 or 3 (cut into thin rounds)
• Ginger  - 1/4 inch piece ( chopped finely)
• Whole pepper cones  -  1 tsp
• Curry leaves  -  10 leaves (chopped) 
• Salt  -  to taste
• Oil  -  for deep frying

Method

• Soak thoroughly washed urad dal for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Grind this with minimum water to a thick batter. You can grind it smooth or coarse . I have tasted both but din find much difference.Rest the batter for half n hour.
• Add chopped onions,green chilies, ginger, pepper cones, curry leaves and salt and mix gently. Over mixing reduces the thickness of the batter.
• Add rice flour to adjust the consistency. Here I have given a rough measurement, it doesn't mean that u have to add the whole 1/4th cup, it depends on your batter ,sometimes you may even need more.. so use accordingly
• Heat oil in deep pan. If u are using a flat bottomed pan, you can make more vadas at a time.
• Shape the batter and fry in hot oil. Flip only when one side is done. Fry till golden brown. Take out and drain on paper towels before serving.
• Serve hot

Notes

• Can use any oil of your choice.
• Adjust chilles and pepper according to your taste. Can use coriander leaves instead of curry leaves.
• Flip for minimum times to reduce oil absorption