Medu Vada

Two things to remember for making crispy Medu vada is not adding water while grinding the batter and adding little rava to the batter just before deep frying.

Ingredients:

1 cup urad daal
2-3 green chillies
1 Tbsp grated ginger
3-4 curry leaves
10-20 small pieces of coconut(optional)
1 Tbsp of fine rava (sooji)
1 Tbsp Jeera (cumin) seeds
 handful chopped coriander leaves
 Salt
Oil 

Preparation:

• Soak the urad daal in enough water for about 5-6 hours.
• Cut the green chillies very finely, cut the curry leaves into pieces and grate the ginger.
• Drain the water completely from soaked urad daal, add salt and grind it to a smooth paste. (Do not add water at all, if required add only spoonful of water at a time).
• To this paste add green chillies, cumin seeds, curry leaves, ginger, coriander leaves and coconut pieces (if using). Mix thoroughly and check for taste. Add more salt if necessary.
• Finally add the rava just before deep frying and mix well.

Method:

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan sufficient enough to deep fry.
• Check to make sure that the oil has reached the correct temperature, by putting in small amount of batter
  If there is a sound of a sizzle that means the oil is ready.
• Take about lemon size ball of the batter from the tips of your hands and put it in the deep fryer. Add about 4-5 depending on the size of the pan at the same time.
• Remove from oil, when done and continue the above for the remaining batter as well.