Uzhunnu/Urad lentil vadas/fritters

Now these are also the same vadas without the hole(that resembles a doughnut). Perfection in forming those holes in the centre of a bit of batter depends on my mood and basically the feel of the batter in my hands...today the batter was just not cooperating with me, so I ended up making these lovely,chubby ,crisp mamas. Ensure that you always fry your vadas on a low heat so that the insides would cook well. Do not feel tempted to adjust the flame...then these babes would burn or cook unevenly-the outsides maybe crisp but the insides could still be of a batter consistency.

So, this is how I did it, take sufficient Urad dal and soak it for around four hours. This is one lentil/dal which is extremely healthy. Of course you are right in thinking ...but these are deep fried, sorry readers...I know, there are those days when you feel like binging do it...You live only once right :).
The soaked lentil is then drained thoroughly and without adding any excess water but for a tbsp or two, grind this to a coarse batter which you can handle later on the palms of your hands prior to frying.
To this batter add asafoetida/hing, finely chopped onions, green chillies,peppercorns,curry leaves, some ginger and salt to taste. You can add chilly powder/anything else that you've eaten or seen people do to the batter at this point.

Heat adequate oil for deep frying. Keep absorbent paper ready by its side. Take this prepared batter, form balls in your palms, if you are skilful enough form the doughnut hole as well by wetting your thumb or index finger in water and pressing it into the centre of this batter just before it goes into the hot oil.Flip and fry both sides and then with a slotted spoon scoop out these vadas from the hot oil and place them neatly on the absorbent paper to drain off any excess oil.
 If you are successful you will get the perfect Uzhunnu vada otherwise you can do how I've shown in the above pics. They can be eaten with Ketchup ...YUMMMMMMMMY! or a spicy coconut chutney.

The perfect Uzhunnu vadas can also be immersed into hot rasam which is also included herewith. I must admit these are delicacies exclusive to certain regions of South India-Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Andhra Pradesh and they are to die for...the explosion of tastes on your taste buds are unbelievable especially when these vadas are nestled in the rasam or in curd. Enjoy!