Sambar Vada- South Indian Breakfast

Sambar Vada

Urad Dal vadas/ medu vada is a much-loved traditional breakfast and snack in South India. I grew up eating this deep-fried goodness, and of course, it is made at every South Indian home, restaurant, and tiffin center. It is relished, with sambar and chutney as breakfast or snack. When these crispy fried urad dal vadas get soaked in delicious aromatic sambar, it is relished as sambar vada. Sambar vada is popular in South Indian restaurants and tiffin stalls. Uzhunnu vada/ medu vada soaked in sambar is a filling and satisfying snack and represents the simple, homely flavors of South Indian breakfast.

Crispy fried Medu vadas are delicious snacks, crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Vadas are deep-fried savory snacks flavored with shallots, ginger, green chilly, and curry leaves. Vadas are soft and fluffy inside, and they soak up the sambar. The result is soft, and melt-in-mouth vadas that taste divine. You can garnish it with chopped onions, tomatoes, or sev for a beautiful presentation and delicious crunch. Drizzle some ghee for extra flavor and taste. Sambar vada tastes delicious, and it is super easy to make at home. Try this, you will surely love it.

How to Make Sambar Vada

Ingredients
For the vada
Urad Dal/Black lentil skinless- 1 cup
Ginger finely chopped- 1 inch thick
Curry leaves finely chopped- 1 spring
Whole black pepper-a few
salt to taste
Oil- 2 cup to fry

For the Sambar
Toor Dal/sambar parippu- 1/2 cup
Pearl onions- a few
Tomato-1
Tamarind one lemon sized
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Sambar powder- 1 tsp
Fenugreek powder- 1/3 tsp
Asafoetida- 1/3 tsp
Mustard seeds
Dry red chilly- 2
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil
To make the sambar
Wash Toor dal/sambar parippu and cook with enough water in pressure cooker. After 3-4 whistles remove the lid and mash the dal.
Add pearl onions, chopped tomato,turmeric powder and salt. Add one more cup of water if necessary and close the lid. Cook till it is soft.Add all the powders and pour thick tamarind pulp. Bring this to a boil and finally add coriander leaves and asafoetida.
In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add one tsp of chopped onion and saute. Fry red chilly and curry leaves and add this to the curry and mix well.Keep this aside

To make vada
Wash and soak urad dal and rice for about 4-5 hours.
Drain the urad dal and grind into a smooth thick batter. Do not add more than two to three tbs of water. It should be thick batter to form shape.
Add chopped ginger, curry leaves, and whole black pepper. Mix in salt and set aside for about 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan. Just before frying, add the chopped shallots and mix. If the batter is not thick enough to form shapes, add two tablespoons of rice powder.
Drop a small portion of the batter to check the oil temperature. If it sizzles, the oil is ready to fry.
Take a small bowl of water and wet your hands first. Take a lemon-sized portion of the batter, and shape it into a ball. Press a finger through the middle to make a depression in the center. Gently drop into hot oil and fry in medium flame till both sides turn crispy golden brown. You can fry four to five vadas in each batch. To serve place two vadas in the bowl and pour warm sambar. Let it soak for 5-6 minutes and serve. Enjoy!