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Keerai Medhu Vada
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
soaking
3 hrs
 

Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, Red Amaranth Medhu Vada

Makes 12-14 medium sized vadas

Course: Snack
Cuisine: south indian
Keyword: keerai vada, medhu vada, vada
Servings: 12
Author: Radhika Penagonda
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup skinned whole urad dal
  • 1-1/2 tsp rice flour
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • handful of red amaranth leaves
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh coconut pieces finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp freshly coarse ground black pepper
  • salt to taste
  • peanut oil for deep frying
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak skinned whole urad dal for 3 hours in clean water.
  2. Not more than 3 hours otherwise batter will absorb more oil when deep fried.
  3. In the meanwhile, clean Amaranth leaves and wash and rinse well. Towel dry
  4. After 3 hours, grind the soaked urad dal with few tsp of water to be a thick smooth batter.
  5. Drop a tiny piece of the vada batter in a small cup of water. If the batter floats, you've got the perfect consistency
  6. meanwhile, chop the onion, amaranth leaves and coconut pieces
  7. Pour oil into an iron kadai and let it begin to heat up
  8. Add all the chopped ingredients to the batter
  9. Season the batter with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  10. Add the rice flour and ginger paste or grated ginger and mix well several times to make batter light and fluffy
  11. when the oil seems hot and shimmering, drop a small piece of batter to check. if the batter rises to the top, oil is ready for frying
  12. Keep a wide bowl of water nearby
To shape the vada
  1. Dip your four fingers in water. Pinch off a small ball of batter and press it with your thumb to flatten and shape it and make a hole in the center.
  2. if you cannot shape the vada with one hand, you can do so on a piece of wet banana leaf
  3. Slide off the vada batter into the kadai.
  4. Deep fry on medium heat on both sides until golden brown

  5. Remove the fried vada using a slotted ladle and Strain off onto a paper towel

  6. Repeat with remaining batter
  7. serve it hot off the stove
  8. Tastes best when fresh
Notes

Taste check after the first frying the first vada and adjust for seasoning as needed.

Plain urad dal batter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before frying

You can add thinly sliced green chillies as well to the batter

Spring onion can also be added

Spinach can also be used in place of Amaranth.

Read tips on how to make crunchy vadas on the post