Medu vada (; in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

) is a South Indian breakfast snack made from ''

Vigna mungo The black gram or urad bean (''Vigna mungo'') is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the genus ''Phaseolus'' to '' Vigna''. The product sold as black gram is usually the whole urad bean, wh ...

'' (black lentil). It is usually made in a doughnut shape, with a crispy exterior and soft interior. A popular food item in

South Indian cuisine South Indian cuisine includes the cuisines of the five South India, southern states of India—Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana—and the union territories of Lakshadweep, and Puducherry (union territory), Pondicherr ...

it is generally eaten as a breakfast or a snack.

Etymology

"Medu" (ಮೆದು) means "soft" in

, thus "medu vada" means "soft vada". The dish is often mentioned simply as "vade" on menus. Other names for the dish include uddina vade

, urad vada, medhu vadai, ulundu vadai (

), garelu(గారెలు) ( Telugu), uzhunnu vada (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

), batuk ( Nepali), and ''ulundu vadai'' ( Sinhala).

History

According to Vir Sanghvi, the origin of ''medu vada'' can be traced with "some certainty" to the Maddur town in present-day

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. The dish was made popular outside South India by

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

restaurateurs of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Preparation

The medu vada is made primarily of black lentils (urad dal) batter. The black lentils are soaked in water for several hours, and then ground to a paste. The paste may be flavoured with other ingredients such as

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...

, methi seeds (fenugreek), ginger, cumin seeds, black pepper, curry leaves, chillies and coconut pieces. It is then patted into doughnut-shapes and fried in oil until golden brown. One variation involves baking instead of frying. Other variations of the dish involve use of pulses other than black lentils. For example, ''am-bada'' (or ''aama vadai'') is made with chana dal (split

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...

lentil); occasionally, ''tuar'' (

pigeon pea The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') or toor dal is a perennial legume from the family (biology), family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being com ...

) and ''masoor'' (

lentil The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

) are also used.

Serving

The dish is usually served with sambar (lentil and vegetable stew) and coconut chutney. Along with idli, it is often eaten as a breakfast dish. It is also eaten as a lunch starter or a snack. The medu vada is sometimes also served with

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

, as a chaat snack (see dahi vada). In

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, on the day of

Maghe Sankranti Maghe Sankranti (, , Nepal Bhasa: ) is a Nepali festival observed on the first of Magh (Nepali calendar), Magh in the Vikram Samvat, Vikram Sambat (B.S) or Yele Sambat, Yele calendar marking the end of the winter solstice and the month of Poush. ...

, people make , which is eaten with a variety of boiled tubers such as yam,

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

, and

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

Gallery

File:Medu Vadas.JPG, Medu vadas served with coconut chutney File:Vada at Sagar Ratna restaurant, New Delhi.jpg, fried Medu vada with chutney File:Breakfast South India.jpg, A common South Indian breakfast: idli, medu vada, sambar and coconut chutney File:GKN Pongal Vada DSC 1069.JPG, Another common breakfast: medu vada, pongal, sambar and coconut chutney File:Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla.JPG, In form of dahi vada, with yogurt

References

External links

Medu Vada, South Indian Vada, Daal Vada
.

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. {{Sri Lankan cuisine Indian snack foods South Indian cuisine Sri Lankan snack food Sinhalese New Year foods Fritters Tamil cuisine Kerala cuisine Karnataka cuisine Andhra cuisine