Crispy Urad Dal Vada Recipe for Kids and Adults Alike - 24 Mantra Organic

Urad Dal is a versatile staple food item that is used widely among millions of Indian households. Its unique taste and rich texture is something that is enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Urad Dal Vada recipe is akin to a South India pakora, prepared entirely with Urad Dal.

Urad dal Vada is a deep-fried fritter made by grinding Urad Dal coupled with curry leaves and a variety of spices. Urad Dal recipe involves soaking and grinding Urad Dal, mixing the spices, and then deep-frying the fritters in oil.

Although the Urad Dal Vada recipe is primarily a South-Indian cuisine, it fits well in the menus of many North-Indian restaurants as well. In this post, we will be looking at the steps involved in preparing crisp and fluffy Urad Dal Vada that are best enjoyed with sambhar or coconut chutney.

Urad Dal Vada Recipe Ingredients

To make restaurant-style Urad Dal Vada, the ingredients required are pretty basic and can be easily found in a majority of Indian kitchens. You can even prepare these crispy fritters without using onion or ginger, depending on your taste preferences. The first thing that we need to ensure is whether we have all the required ingredients.

• 1 Cup Urad Dal (Preferably organic variety)
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 tablespoon dry chopped coconut
• 2 tablespoon coriander
• Crushed black pepper
• 1-inch ginger finely chopped
• 2 Green chillies
• Cumin seeds
• Curry leaves
• Hing (asafoetida)
• Salt as per taste
• Oil for frying
• Baking soda (recommended)

As you can see, the majority of ingredients required can be sourced very easily. If you are wondering why we have added baking soda to our Urad dal Vada recipe ingredient list, it will help the fritters in attaining that fluffy texture that instantly melts in the mouth! Now, let’s begin with our Urad dal Vada recipe.

Urad Dal Vada Recipe

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Now that we are done with the ingredients, its time to move on to the steps involved in Urad dal Vada preparation. Let’ start with the recipe.

• Soak the Urad dal for a maximum of 3 hours. It is crucial to adhere to this 3-hour timeline as over-soaking the dal may lead to the Vada absorbing oil during the frying process.
• Now, drain the remaining water and grind the dal to make a thick paste of uniform consistency. You can gradually add small amounts of water, preferably 2-3 tablespoons, to improve the consistency of the paste.
• Put the Urad dal batter in a large mixing bowl and beat the mixture until the colour of the mixture turns light. This is to ensure that air gets mixed in the batter and our Vada’s turn our soft and fluffy.
• Now add the baking soda, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander, dry coconut powder, Hing (asafoetida), rice flour, and salt. Mix everything well and ensure that the consistency of all the ingredients is uniform throughout the batter.
• Take a frying pan and put an ample amount of oil in the pan. We will use this oil for frying our delicious Urad dal Vada.
• Heat the oil on a medium flame until it is smoking hot.
• Wet your hands with water and a decent amount of water and pick up some of the batter from the mixing bowl.
• Make a batter ball and press it in from the top so that the sides are expanded.
• Now, wet your thumb in water and use it to poke a hole in the middle of the Vada.
• Once this is done, ensure that the oil is heated up adequately. This can be ensured by putting a small amount of batter in the oil and if the batter rises along with a golden hue to it, our oil is ready for frying!
• Put the flame on medium and gently roll our Vada’s in the oil carefully, ensuring that no splashes of oil come out from the pan.
• The flame must be set to medium as a high flame would overcook the Vada from outside, and the insides would remain seemingly uncooked.
• Fry both the sides of the Vada consistently for a uniform colour on both sides.
• Take out the Vada from the pan and tap out the excess oil using a napkin or tissue paper.
• Finally, serve the delicious Urad dal Vada with sambhar or a chutney of your choice.

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Urad Dal Vada Recipe Tips

Although the recipe is relatively simple, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind to ensure an optimal preparation process.

• Salt will make the mixture watery. Hence it is recommended that you add salt only when you are ready to make the Vada. If you have to store the batter for preparation at a later stage, do not add salt. It can be added later when you are ready to fry the Vada.
• If your batter turns out to be watery, you are free to add more rice flour as it helps the batter in holding its consistency and makes your Vada’s crispy.
• Do not soak Urad dal for more than 3 hours as it will lead to greasy Vadas.

When you are in the market for getting Urad dal, ensure that you opt for an organic variety. An organic dal variety is usually fresher than its non-organic counterparts due to the absence of preservatives, and is more suitable for recipes such as the Urad dal Vada recipe.

If you are making Urad dal Vada for the first time, there may be a possibility of a few general cooking errors. However, if you keep these tips in mind while preparation, there is no question as to whether your Vada’s won’t turn out good. Happy cooking!

Try 24 Mantra Organic’s Urad dal and enjoy the crispy urad dal vada!