Indian Breakfast – Medhu Vadai

In Nagalakshmi Viswanathan’s book, this stands as one of the best South Indian breakfasts you can get.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup of whole, skinned, urad dal
• 2 of green chillies, chopped
• 2 tsp of whole, black pepper
• 10-12 of curry leaves, torn roughly
• 2 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp of minced ginger (optional)
• 4 cups of oil, to deep fry, depending on the size of your pan

Instructions:

1. – Soak the urad dal for at least 45 mins in enough water.
2. – Grind adding water by the teaspoon until you have a smooth, thick batter that falls off with reluctance as you drop it off a spoon.
3. – Mix the rest of the ingredients (except oil) with the batter.
4. – Heat oil until smoking point
5. – Shape the vadai using wet hands into a donut shape (read notes)
6. – Dunk into the hot oil. Take care not to over crowd the pan and also, regulate the heat to medium-low so that the insides of the vadai get cooked and the outside crisps up.
7. – Drain and set aside.

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