medu vada served with coconut chutney

Medu Vada Recipe (Garelu)

By Swasthi on June 4, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Medu Vada are crisp, fluffy & delicious donut shaped lentil fritters from South Indian Cuisine. Vada with Coconut Chutney or Tiffin Sambar is a popular Breakfast relished in a lot of South Indian homes & restaurants. Make delicious, crisp yet soft and fluffy vada at home with my time-tested traditional recipe. I also have a lot of troubleshooting tips and tricks to make the best medu vada at home. Once you learn to make these, I am sure you will ditch your favorite restaurant & make these often at home.

medu vada served with coconut chutney in a white plate

What is Vada?

Vada are a kind of deep fried savory snacks mostly made with lentils, spices and herbs. The Word “Vada” may have been derived from the Sanskrit Term “vataka”. According to the popular Indian Food Historian, KT Achaya, vada dates back to ancient India, as far as 500 BC with mentions of the food as soaked and ground pulses, fried in ghee.

Till day, traditionally made vada are offered to Deities/ Gods in Temples and Hindu homes during puja.

Indian cuisine is a melange of different regional cuisines so you will find many kinds of vada across India. Vada is basically a kind of fried snack known by different names such as bada, wada or bora, with recipes varying by region, community and home. They can be made with lentils, vegetables, grains and even with tapioca pearls.

Masala vada, medu vada, Maddur vada, batata vada, Dahi vada are some of the popularly known in Indian Cuisine.

About Medu Vada

Medu vada are traditional South Indian fritters made with urad dal (black lentils), spices and curry leaves. “Medu” is a Kannada word meaning “Soft” and “Vada” are “crispy Indian fritters”. So medu vada, also sometimes simply mentioned as “VADA” are essentially soft from inside yet crisp on the outside.

Known by different names such as Garelu in Telugu, uddina vade, medu vade in Kannada, ulundhu vadai in Tamil and uzhunnu vada in Malayalam, they are made and relished across the South Indian states.

Growing up, medu vada aka Garelu was a staple in our home as my mom would offer these to Goddess Lakshmi and Durga during Friday Pooja. We Telugu speaking people also make them for an offering during Varalakshmi vratam, Gouri puja, Diwali and Durga Navratri.

In fact our festivals are incomplete without making vada since we also serve them as a part of the festive meal. Depending on the region and family traditions various spices and herbs are added to the batter.

South Indian foods like masala dosa, idli, rava dosa, medu vada served with coconut chutney and sambar are hugely popular even in the restaurants across the world.

My Recipe

My traditional recipe to make these medu vada comes from my Mom and I have also shared all her tips and tricks to make them perfectly crispy, fluffy and delicious every time. Making perfectly crisp and fluffy vadas at home is easy if you follow the recipe without missing out the minute details I have mentioned in this post.

The recipe involves only three steps – soaking lentils, grinding them to make fluffy batter and lastly shaping small portions of the batter & frying. Traditionally medu vada batter is ground in a manual stone grinder but a lot of us also grind it in an electric mixer grinder/ blender or a wet grinder.

Making fluffy batter is the key to crisp and fluffy vadas. So you need a good strong and powerful blender that can grind your lentils really well to a fluffy texture. If you use a regular low watt grinder you may end up with hard and dense vadas and even more your blender may break down.

The basic medu vada is made with just urad dal, water and salt. To flavor them ingredients like crushed black pepper, green chilies, ginger, cumin seeds, curry leaves and onions are used. At home we do not add any other ingredients if making for Naivedyam. This is a tradition we have followed.

Other times my mom would add all those aromatic ingredients and sometimes onions were replaced with fresh shredded cabbage which really goes well in these fritters.

To make perfectly crisp and fluffy vadas do check out my faqs, pro tips and notes which I shared below.

More Vada recipes
Batata vada
Masala vada (chana dal vada)
Mixed dal vada
Sabudana vada
Alasanda vada

How To Make Medu Vada (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Add 1 cup urad dal to a large bowl and wash it well rubbing with your hand. Rinse it well at least 3 to 4 times & drain the water. This removes the white powdery substance on the urad dal.

rinsing urad dal for medu vada

2. Add fresh water and soak it for at least 4 to 5 hrs. Soaking them for at least 5 hours makes the batter fluffy and increases in volume. But if you do not have so much time, you can soak for 3 hours but the texture is not the same. If using organic dal you can soak for 8 hours with good results. While the dal soaks, keep about 1 cup of water in the refrigerator to chill.

Make batter

3. Later discard the water completely from the dal & give a good rinse. Drain the water completely.

draining water from soaked urad dal

4. Add the dal to a grinder or blender jar along with 1/3 teaspoon salt.

adding salt to grinder to make medu vada batter

5. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice cold water to start off. Blend for a short time about 25 to 30 seconds.

adding water to grind batter

6. Next scrape the sides and the bottom to release the dal that’s stuck.

scraping the sides while grinding

7. As and when needed sprinkle evenly about only 1 ½ teaspoon water each time. Whether you make in the wet grinder or blender, the process is same. Scrape off the sides and grind again. The batter will be coarse but must be thick. Sprinkle water as needed again.

sprinkling water for blending medu vada batter

8. Grind till the batter looks fluffy, thick, lightly aerated and white in color. (like you see in the picture). Ensure your blender does not become warm or hot while you grind as this will give a bitter taste.

texture of well made batter

Consistency of Batter

9. Check if the batter is done correctly. Take a small bowl filled with water. Take little batter and form a ball, drop it in the water. If the consistency & texture of the batter is light, the batter floats well.

The batter will not float if the consistency is very thin. Read the notes below what to do if the batter becomes runny/thin.

medu vada batter floats in water

10. Transfer the batter to a bowl, beat the batter with your hand in clock wise direction for 30 to 40 seconds. This makes the batter more fluffy and aerated. This is very important. You can skip this step if making the batter in wet grinder.

aerating batter by beating

11. To make the hotel style medu vada, you can add a tiny pinch of baking soda, half teaspoon crushed pepper, 1 to 2 chopped green chilies, 1 tablespoon fine chopped ginger, 1 sprig curry leaves and 2 to 3 tbsps chopped onion or fresh coconut. Since I made these for the puja, I did not add any to half of the batter. To the other half I added everything else but not soda. Mix the batter well.

adding spices, onions, curry leaves to make vada recipe

How To Shape Medu Vada

12. On a medium flame, heat oil in a deep pan. Ensure there is enough oil in the kadai so your medu vada floats and fries well.

13. Method 1: Dip your fingers in water (water should not be dripping from your fingers).

moisten fingers to shape vada

14. Take small portions of this batter to your fingers. Make a ball.

shape batter to a ball

15. Slightly flatten the ball with your thumb. Next make a hole in the center. If the batter sticks, dip your thumb in water. If you are new to making medu vada, follow the second method below or practice this a few times before frying. I always make these following the second method.

making a hole in the medu vada

16. Before sliding the medu vada to the oil, ensure it is hot enough. To check, drop a small portion of batter to it. The batter must rise without browning a lot. This is the right temperature.

heating oil on a medium flame to fry

17. Method 2: Place the ball on a greased sheet or greased parchment paper. Flatten it slightly and make a hole in the center.

shaping vadas on a greased parchment paper

18. Once the oil is hot enough, ensure the flame is to medium. Dip your fingers in water. Please ensure there is no excess water dripping from your hand. Lift the side or corner part of the sheet with your left hand and transfer the medu vada on to your fingers (right hand).

transfer garelu to fingers

19. Face your palm towards the oil, drop in the hot oil by shaking your fingers gently. Take care. Drop these just by shaking your fingers. Gently slide a few.

sliding medu vada to hot oil

20. Fry medu vada on a medium flame till they turn golden & crisp. Towards the end if you like them deep golden, fry them on a slightly higher flame for 2 mins.

frying on a medium heat

21. When done, remove them to a colander. Shape and fry medu vadas in batches till all the batter is used up.

removing fried vada from oil

We offer garelu to the Goddess first. Serve medu vada with coconut chutney & tiffin sambar. Here I have the picture of both – plain & with spices & onions.

serving medu vada with coconut chutney

We offer only the plain ones during pooja.

medu vada also known as garelu served  with chutney

Faqs

How do I keep vada crisp for long time?

Like any other deep fried foods, vada becomes soft and lose their crispness as they cool down. To keep them crisp for longer, place a cooling rack over a baking tray and pop them in the oven. Preheat your oven with keep warm settings (80 C to 100 C or 175 F to 200 F) for at least 15 mins, then place the hot fried vadas over the cooling rack. Continue to move them to the oven as you fry.

How to crisp or reheat vada?

You can simply refry them in hot oil Or reheat to crisp them in an preheated oven at 180 C or 360 C for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp.

Why did my medu vada absorb lot of oil?

If the oil is not hot enough or if the urad dal is over soaked, vada can absorb lot of oil. Also if the lentils are ground too long in a wet grinder, the batter can become feather light and vadas can soak up a lot of oil. So ensure you don’t oversoak the lentils, grind them just until light and fry the vada in hot oil.

Why is my vada hard?

Soaking the lentils well for at least 4 hours is very important. Under soaked lentils won’t yield a fluffy batter and the vadas turn out dense and hard. Not using enough water while grinding and not aerating the batter enough can also make hard vada. Lastly aged lentils that have been in the shelf for a long time do not make fluffy batter so use lentils that are fresh. Avoid using lentils that have picked up an yellow shade.

Why is my vada uncooked?

Frying vadas in extremely hot oil will brown the vadas from outside but won’t cook them inside. So always ensure the oil is hot enough but not smoking hot. Also fry them on a medium flame until crisp, golden and cooked through.

Can I make vada batter without wet grinder?

In hotels & restaurants, medu vada batter is made in wet grinder. This gives the best fluffy texture from inside and crispy texture outside. Most traditional South Indian households too use a wet grinder to make the batter.

But every time I make garelu I use my mixer grinder. I have a very large wet grinder so I rarely use that for grinding. We can make fluffy medu vada even without a wet grinder.

Pro Tips & Notes

  1. Firstly do not let the mixer-grinder or the batter heat up while grinding. Warm or hot batter makes hard medu vada. Sometimes they may even taste bitter. So always use ice cold water to grind the lentils.
  2. If the batter becomes slightly runny, you can mix 1 to 2 tbsps rice flour (at room temperature).Then beat it well to aerate. If the batter turns to be runny still, I suggest you to make punugulu or urad dal bonda.
  3. Other alternates are to use fine powdered poha (attukulu). Poha works great to soak up excess moisture in the runny batter.
  4. If you are a beginner make the medu vada on a damp cloth, plastic sheet or cling flim and then transfer to the hot oil. Do not make it in your hand or fingers.
  5. Lastly adding salt later to the batter can thin it down, so make sure you add while grinding.
  6. Use only very little ice cold water to grind the batter. Using not more than 1 1/2 tsp. at one time, which literally means you have to sprinkle the water.
  7. If using organic urad dal, you can soak it for 8 hours.
medu vada recipe

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Medu Vada Recipe (Garelu)

Medu vada is a popular south Indian breakfast also known as garelu or vadai. The are doughnut shaped fried dumplings made with lentils. This post shares tips & tricks to make the best crispy yet fluffy vada at home using a mixer grinder (blender).
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time4 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time4 hours 40 minutes
Servings15
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup urad dal (or skinned black gram)
  • â…“ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • Ice cold water
  • Oil for deep frying

Optional (skip if making for Naivedyam)

  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper corn (crushed coarsely)
  • 2 to 3 green chilies (chopped)
  • 4 tablespoon onions (chopped) (1 small)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves (chopped)
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger fine grated


Instructions

Preparation

  • Wash dal several times and soak in lot of water for at least 4 to 5 hrs.
  • Drain the water completely and transfer the dal to a mixer grinder jar. If you have a wet grinder, you can use it. 
  • Sprinkle 3 tablespoons water. Next add salt and start grinding.
  • Next scrape off the sides and then grind again. Whenever needed sprinkle only as much as 1 ½ tsps. Ice cold water evenly. 
  • Again continue to grind to a coarse thick batter. Ensure your grinder does not become hot.
  • Sprinkle water. Grind again till the batter looks fluffy and white.
  • Transfer this to a bowl. Aerate the batter by beating it with your hand in a clockwise direction for 30 to 60 seconds.
  • Test the batter if it is aerated well.  Drop a small batter ball in bowl full of water. The ball has to float meaning it is light. This is needed to get fluffy medu vada.
  • If the batter doesn’t float well, means either the batter is runny or is not aerated well. Read the notes below to know what to do with runny batter. 
  • If the batter is in right consistency still it is not floating well. Then beat the batter once more. 
  • Add crushed pepper, cumin, ginger,scurry leaves, green chilies and onions. Mix everything well.

How To Make Medu Vada

  • Heat oil in a deep heavy bottom kadai or pan on a medium heat till hot enough. 
  • Drop a small amount of batter to check if the oil is hot. The batter raises if the oil is hot enough.
  • Dip your fingers in water or oil to moisten your fingers. Water should not be dripping.
  • Take small portions of batter.  Shape to a ball, slightly flatten with thumb. 
  • Dip the thumb in water, again no dripping water. Make a hole in the center. 
  • Gently slide the vada in the hot oil by gently shaking off the fingers.
  • Or place the ball on a greased sheet. Flatten it slightly and make a hole in the centre.
  • If the oil becomes too hot, regulate the flame to medium. 
  • Moisten your fingers again. Lift the corner part of the sheet and transfer the vada on to your fingers. Then drop it just by shaking your fingers.
  • Fry medu vada till they turn golden on both sides.
  • Make them and fry them in batches till you use up all the batter. In between every batch, wait till the oil heats up, if not hot.
  • Serve medu vada with coconut chutney or tiffin sambar.


Notes

  • Vada recipe is not for beginners. To try this recipe you must know atleast the basics of deep frying – how to manage deep frying.
  • Take care not to use too much water to moisten your fingers. Any water droplets in the oil can cause hot splashes of oil.
  • You can also use oil instead of water to grease your fingers before you shape the vadas.
  • Sliding vada to oil that is not hot enough can cause splatters.
  • The amount of water to use for batter changes with the soaking time and the kind of dal. 6 to 7 tbps water is what I use for organic dal that’s soaked for 5 hours.
 

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Medu Vada Recipe (Garelu)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 108 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Potassium 5mg0%
Carbohydrates 7g2%
Fiber 2g8%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin C 0.8mg1%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Medu Vada Recipe was first published in July 2014. Updated and republished in June 2022.

Medu Vada Recipe (Garelu)

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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5 stars
Hi Swasthi,

For me medu vada was always a failure till I followed your recipe point by point yet it did not come out fluffy dear. Though it tasted too good the fluffy part was lacking. Can you please let me know how to make fluffy vadas.

Thanks
Rita

Hi Swasthi , what Blender are you using? Am not happy for idli/vada batter with the one I have. Thanx for all the great Recipes. Easy to follow and make.

5 stars
Superb! The recipe was spot on. I loved the detailed instructions. Especially, the amount of water, and details related to soak time and type of urad dal.
I have never been able to make good vadas. They’ve always been a flop. But with your recipe they came out quite well.
I made vadas as per the recipe. Followed it to the Ticked all boxes. The taste was great. Just that the vada was crispy on the outside but inside, though cooked, was dense. It was not airy. Does that have to do with the quality of the urad dal or did I need to put more water?

5 stars
Hello Swasthi, me and my daughter (5 year old) are fan of your recipes. We tried vada today and they turned out delicious. We followed all your tips and notes. Thank you

Can I use black dal to make vadas?

I have been making vadas for years using wet grinder, little water and organic dal but I nvr get crispy outside.. how do I achieve that with soft inside? I read your tips but could not find solutions

Hi Swasthi, every time I fry vadas a few of them burst ….what can be the reason? I fry them at medium flame….

5 stars
I made a large batch of medu vada today. Too good to believe! They were extremely perfect. How can I store the leftovers and reheat? Please reply.

5 stars
I have been living outside India for the past 20 years. When the cravings kick-in for a good Indian dish I keep coming back to your website. This medu vada was on my long list of favorites to try. Last week I did try & the results were amazing. However mine were not shaped well and could not make a perfect hole. But my family was happy with the results. I am going to make these again. Thank you.

5 stars
Bought a new tabletop grinder and I followed this recipe to the T. My vadas turned out good & delicious. But they had a slight bitter taste. Can you tell me why? TIA

5 stars
I rarely go to youtube to watch recipe videos because that kills my precious time. However I love watching them on websites only before trying out the recipes. I wish this recipe had a video because your instructions are so well written and would love to glance at the video before trying. TIA

5 stars
thankyou…always in love with yr recipes.

Made them today. Turned out crisp and yummy! Little oily though. Thanks for the detailed recipe 🙂 How can I store excess vada batter and for how long?

5 stars
Very nice

5 stars
Thank you for the recipe. Tried making vada at home and they turned out very good.

5 stars
Loved the recipe. Wada turned very soft. The wadas were not crispy though. How do you achieve soft yet crispy wada. Another problem was they turned hard when I boiled them in Sambhaar for a few mins to make wada sambhaar. Other than that excellent recipe

Your recipe looks good, wanted to try it. I had a question. Do I grind the batter completely smooth or a little coarse?

Thanks Swami, So for 2 cups Udad approximately how much water do you suggest? Is 1/2 cup ok? Can you grind in food processor?

5 stars
Helpful instructions.Tried it and it was good. Thank you

5 stars
will try now, have done it before…batter was absorbing too much oil, rice flour may help..

5 stars
Hello, I am a big fan of your recipes! I am going to prepare these Vada in afternoon for a dinner get together for which I need to take them over to a friends house. How can I warm them up before serving, would it be possible in a microwave and if so how long ?

Hello Swasthi
I followed your instructions to the last letter. The only change I made was: I have used skinned ‘minapappu’, soaked overnight and removed all the skins before grinding. I used ice water and the batter ground really fine and fluffy. I started disliking the “de-husked” minapappu because it is tasting bitter after grinding. So as far as possible I have been using husked minapappu. Anyway, my question to you is: the vadas soaked too much of oil. The oil temperature was not cold or too hot. Just right (I think). Vadas all came out very soft and fluffy after frying. Still they were all too soggy with oil. I wonder if you can tell me what I am doing wrong here. Appreciate your input. Thanks and keep up the great work you are doing.

Swasti
Thanks for your detailed analysis. I remember my mother used soak the lentils around 4-5 hrs. Next time I will not soak overnight. You are right – I may have over ground the lentils. At the end the batter came out like a ball of cotton, very soft and very light. I was in fact very happy the batter came out nice and fluffy. Looks like there is a lot of learning curve in the preparation of this dish. Thanks very much for your input.