Quick and easy Instant Vada made with urad dal flour. This recipe doesn’t need any grinding. These vada are crispy on the inside and airy inside.
Vada is probably one of those snacks that is made all over India in one form or the other. From chillu garelu/ medu vada in the south to ram ladoo in the north, these deep fried treats are popular everywhere in India. They are also made during festivals as offering to god.
Instant Vada:
Traditional vada is made using whole urad dal that is soaked for at least 4 hours. Then the dal is ground to a smooth paste adding little to no water. This requires patience and a good blender to make the perfect batter.
These quick vada use urad dal flour instead of the whole lentils. This saves time with the soaking and grinding. The flour needs to be soaked too, but instead of soaking for 4 hours it needs to be soaked for only 2~3 hours.
What is Urad dal flour:
As the name suggests it is the flour made from urad dal that has been dry roasted and ground to a very fine powder. It is one of the most convenient pantry item to have on hand to make quick dosa, idli, paniyaram or these easy vada.
I always keep a bag of urad/ udad flour in my pantry because:
- I am forgetful and usually forget to soak urad dal to make idli/ dosa. So this flour comes in very handy when the family craves some South Indian food.
- Grinders in India can handle batters like these in a breeze. But the American blenders are not powerful enough to grind the lentils without adding copious amounts of water.
How to make Quick Vada:
Make a thick batter of urad flour by adding just enough water. Set it aside for at least 2~3 hours. This allows the flour to absorb water which will make airy vada instead of dense ones.
After the brief resting time, add finely chopped onions, green chilies, curry leaves and cumin seeds. Finally just before making the vada, add a pinch of baking soda. Once all the ingredients are well incorporated, then they are deep fried until golden brown and crispy.
My mom makes proper Chillu Gaarelu (vada with holes) with this batter. But I’m too lazy to form the perfect shaped garelu, so I took a shortcut and make these urad dal pakora instead.
Tips for making these Instant Urad flour Vada:
- If you happen to add a little too much water to the batter, then add a few tablespoons of rice flour or all purpose flour. Mix well and fry as usual.
- I added onion since I made them for our evening snack, but if you are making them for the festival, then skip the onion all together or add shredded cabbage instead.
- Make sure that the oil is hot enough before adding the batter. Test it by adding a drop of batter, if it starts to sizzle then it’s ready for frying. If not, heat oil for a minute more.
- Fry vada until the oil around To make sure that the inside of the vada is cooked properly, fry them until the bubbles and sizzles around them get smaller.
- Remove the fried vada onto a paper towel lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
Instant Vada (using Urad dal flour)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Urad dal flour
- 3 tbsps Onion, finely chopped
- 6 ~ 8 Curry leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 ~ 2 Green chilies(optional)
- To taste Salt
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, onion, curry leaves, green chilies (if using) and salt. Add about ½~¾ cup of water to make a very thick paste like batter. Add water very slowly, so that you won’t end up with watery batter.
- Cover the bowl and set aside for 2~3 hours.
- Just before making the vadas, add the baking soda and mix well.
- Heat oil for deep frying. Take lemon size ball of the batter and place it on a damp plastic ziploc bag or your palm. Flatten it slightly and poke a hole right in the middle (as in a donut or bagel). Gently slide the vada into the hot oil and fry on medium flame until golden. Flip carefully and fry on the second size until golden. Fry 3~4 vadas at a time depending on the size of your pan. Repeat with rest of the batter.
- Remove using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate and serve hot with chutney.
Notes
- Substitute Onion with finely chopped cabbage.
- If you happen to add a little too much water to the batter, then add a few tablespoons of rice flour or all purpose flour. Mix well and fry as usual.
- Make sure that the oil is hot enough before adding the batter. Test it by adding a drop of batter, if it starts to sizzle then it’s ready for frying. If not, heat oil for a minute more.
- Fry vada until the oil around To make sure that the inside of the vada is cooked properly, fry them until the bubbles and sizzles around them get smaller.
- Remove the fried vada onto a paper towel lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
Priya Srinivasan
Oh tempting vadas pavani! Never tried them with urad dal flour! I m too lazy to make the hole wala vada, so I always. make 4 vadas for the neivedhiyam that way n the rest as bonda’s makes job easy;-)
Vijayalakshmi Dharmaraj
Very easy and looks crispy vada… I will have anytime.. 🙂 Well made and thanks for sharing Pavani…
Priya Suresh
Very interesting instant vadas, really interesting.. Happy Ugadi wishes Pavani.
Srivalli
That’s really some instant variety!..great to make when one forgets to get the dal soaking..very nice Pavani…
Suja Ilangovan
Looks good- need to give it a try using urad flour, Pavani.
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
I’ve got some urad dal flour in my cabinet. These are bookmarked for sure!!!
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
I’ve got some urad dal flour in my cabinet. These are bookmarked for sure!!!
Shweta Agrawal
That is all i need on rainy days. Looks so yummy and tempting..:) happy to follow u:)
Uma Centsible Indian
Came across your blog when I was looking for recipes with urad flour. Such a good idea 🙂
Deepali Kamath
add whole pepper corns and jeera, coconut slices, curry leaves and chopped ginger for added taste
Sheikh Jahbooty
This batter is so sticky. Shaping the vadas and getting them into the oil was so difficult it was scary. Because Deepali suggested it I added grated coconut and ginger, and then I also added lime juice because it’s my habit to add lime juice any time I add baking soda, and I added it before checking to see if it was in the recipe. These came out so light and fluffy and delicious! (but very lumpy and oddly shaped) I absolutely love the hint of coconut and ginger. Maybe next time I will try adding jeera as well.
Because they were so good I will certainly make them again, and hopefully get better at handling the batter as I gain experience.
Pavani
Thank you Deepali for the tip.
Raji Ramakrishnan
really interesting
Leelavati
GOOD RECIPE
sapana
Urad dal flour sounds like a wonderful option instead of soaking and grinding the urad dal. Good one.
Shailender Sharma
Indeed an exceptionally amazing recipe. This instant version seems to be so handy & you feel like making it at the moment without giving second thought to it. Just wow.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
I have never thought of making vada with urad dal flour. I need to give this recipe a try with the store bought flour. Such a lifesaver to make the quick evening snack.
Lata Lala
That’s really some wonderful instant version Pavani. The recipe is such a saviour to make when one forgets to get the dal soaking.
Definitely worth a try.
Sandhya Nadkarni
So nice to make the wadas in a few hours with the flour. the wadas look fluffy and crisp!
Yum!
Swati
Making Vada with Urad dal flour sounds a wonderful idea especially during parties when we have to make big batches.. Instant and quick way..Vadas looks so soft and fluffy!!