My Favourite Vada Recipes

MYSORE PAK

MYSORE BONDA

RAGI VADA

MASALA VADA

DAHI VADA

MEDU VADA

Every thing about My Favourite Vada Recipes | Vahrehvah :

Vada is a very popular savoury deep fried fritter type of snack from Southern India. It can be called by various names such as wada, vade, vadai or bara. It is a typical street food in the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. They are also prepared at most homes especially during some festivals or functions. 

According to K. T. Achaya, Vada was popular among ancient Tamils during 100 BCE-300 CE.  Different types of vadas can be described variously as fritters, doughnuts, or dumplings. The various types of vadas are made from different ingredients, ranging from legumes (such as medu vada of South India) to potatoes (such as batata vada of West India). Vadas may be made from legumes, sago or potatoes. Commonly used legumes include pigeon pea, chickpea (chana), vigna mungo (urad) and mung. Vegetables and other ingredients are added to improve taste and nutritive value.

For  vadas, the legumes (dal) are soaked with water, and then ground to a batter. The batter is then seasoned with other ingredients, such as cumin seeds, onion, curry leaves, salt, chilies, and/or black pepper grains. Often ginger and baking soda are added to the seasoning in shops to increase the fluffy texture and improve fermentation for large batches. The mixture is then shaped and deep-fried, resulting in vadas with a crispy skin and fluffy centre. Vadas are often eaten as snacks or as an accompaniment to another dish. In restaurants, they can be ordered as an à la carte item, but are not the main course. They are preferably eaten freshly fried, while still hot and crunchy and served with a variety of dips including sambar, watery or dry chutneys and curd. 

There are a variety of vadas that we can prepare. Every vada has a unique and distinct taste, is very delectable and filling. Listed are some of my favorite vada recipes that I would you all to try:

• Ragi Vada: This is a healthy and nutritious snack made with ingredients using ragi flour, groundnuts, channa and other spices; made into nice roundels and deep fried until golden brown. Truly yummy and flavorful snack to eat!

• Sabudana Vada: Sabudana Vada is a traditional snack from Maharashtra. Sabudana is the main ingredient for this dish and is widely used in the Northern western parts of India.

• Medu Vada: It is urad dal based fried snack, a delightful dish from the South Indian cuisine. For preparing this dish, the urad dal needs to be soaked, ground together with spices and deep fried until golden brown. It is served with coconut chutney. 

• Maddur Vada: A very popular snack, unique to the state of  It tastes extremely good even when you eat without chutney.

• Dahi Vada: It is a popular Indian chaat, prepared by soaking vadas in thick dahi. These are great as a side dish for a formal dinner.

• Masala Vada: A savory fritter prepared with Chana dal (gram dal) and few spices. They are deep-fried and served hot.

• Arbi Vadai: Raw Arbi (taro root) grated and fried crispy. Arbi Vadai is must try snack and kids would love the crispy, nutty flavor of the arbi and the softness of paneer combines with chilli flakes and other spices.

• Mirchi Vada:It is also known as Jodhpuri Mirchi Bada which is a very popular snack in  The traditional Mirchi bada is made of the large variety of green peppers stuffed with a spicy potato mix, coated with gram flour and deep fried until slightly golden in color.

• Steamed Masala Vada: It is a healthier version of a deep-fried masala vada/ fritter. Soaked split chana dal, red chilies, ginger, onion, curry leaves, and peppercorns blended together gives an exceptional taste and flavor. The steamed vada are lightly sauté in a sizzling tadka to give that extra zest and bliss to the dish.

• Masala Vada Style Falafel: Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. It is a traditional Arab food, usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread.

• Bhajaniche Vada – Maharashtrian roasted multigrain special poori: "Bhajani"is a flour of roasted multigrain and pulses. Generally, we make Thalipith from it. Bhajniche vade is deep fried snacks with same ingredients.

• Kumbdi Vade – Malvani Vade: It is a dish native to the Konkan region in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Very popular Malvani delicacy which is prepared by using combination of rice flour and different lentils.

• Stinky Delight Arbi and Shrimp Vadai: This is another variation of taro root dumpling. This is an excellent snack dish made of taro root and dried shrimp mixed together blended with few spices and deep fried.

Health Tips: 

• Chickpeas are known to be an effective natural aid for weight loss due to their high fiber content.
• Bengal gram is an excellent source of the trace mineral manganese, in addition to other health essential nutrients like thiamine, magnesium and phosphorus. Manganese acts as an essential cofactor that plays a vital role in energy production andenhancing your overall immunity.
• The fact that chickpeas have low glycemic index (GI) makes this legume good for diabetics.
• Chickpeas are a great source of phytonutrients namely phyto-oestrogens (plant hormones) and saponins (anti-oxidants). This legume lowers your risk ofbreast cancer and protects against osteoporosis by maintaining blood levels of the oestrogen hormone.
• Chickpeas are an excellent dietary source of iron that helps in fulfilling your body’s requirement for this mineral and thus, prevent anemia.
• Chickpeas are found to lower your blood pressure by reversing the changes that occur in the blood vessels of people suffering from hypertension.
• The high fibre content in chickpeas helps in promoting a healthy digestive system and intestine by lowering the risk of digestive disorders.
• It is found that regular intake of black gram exerts a positive effect on your heart and protects from a wide range of cardiac complications.

For making healthy and nutritious vadas, do follow the recipe rightly. Try them out and enjoy making new variations giving creative dimensions in making it healthier.