Vada or Vadai is a popular recipe in south India. Let's explore the different varieties of vada here

1. Thavalai Vada

Ingredients:

• Channa dhal - 1/2 cup
• Urad dhal ( Full ) - 1/2 cup
• Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
• Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
• Raw rice - 1/2 cup
• Red chillies - 4 to 5
• Green chillies - 5 to 6
• Ginger ( grated ) - little
• Curry leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Grated cocunut - 1/4 cup
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Salt - 3 tsp
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1. Wash channa dhal, toor dhal and rice in water 2 or 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

2. Wash moong dhal in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

3. Wash urad dhal in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

4. Grind together channa dhal, toor dhal and rice by adding asafoetida powder, chillies, salt to a coarse paste ( Like the Adai flour )

5. Grind urad dhal seperately to a paste. (  Not very thick. Grind it to the same like used for idly )

6. Mix well the above two grinded pastes using your hands.

7. Drain the water from moong dhal completely and put as such to the mixture.

8. Peel the skin of ginger and cut it and green chillies to small pieces.

9. Heat 1 tsp oil in  a pan ,add mustard seeds and wait till it sputters out.

10. Add mustard seeds, chopped ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, coriande leaves to the paste and mix it well.

11. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas.

12. When the oil is heated well,take the flour using a small round shaped spoon and pour it to the oil and fry it on both sides

till it becomes slightly red and serve it hot.

2. Karaa Vada

Ingredients:

• Raw rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Urad dhal - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Gram flour - 1/2 cup
• Red chillies - 4 to 5
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Ginger - little
• Channa dhal - Handful
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Tamarind - half the size of lemon
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1. Wash urad dhal in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

2. Soak channa dhal for 30 minutes.

3.Grind urad dhal to a paste. (  Not very thick. Grind it to the same like used for idly )

4. Drain water from the soaked channa dhal.

5. Add rice flour, gram flour, salt, chilli powder,channa dhal, asafoetida powder to the grinded paste and mix it well.

6. Peel the skin of ginger and cut it and green chillies to small pieces.

7. Heat 1 tsp oil in  a pan ,add mustard seeds and wait till it sputters out.

8. Add mustard seeds, chopped ginger, green chillies, curry leaves to the paste and make it like a dough.

9. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas. Put the tamarind in the oil.

10. When the oil is heated well, remove the tamarind from it.

11. Make small balls out of the dough ( like Bonda ) and put it in the oil.

12. After it is cooked to some extent, insert and take out a thin stick ( like the thickness of a broom stick ) so that the vada is well cooked.

13.After it is well cooked on both sides and turns slight reddish take it out and serve hot.

Note : For preparing this vada in evening grind the flour alone  in morning. Remaining things can be added in evening.
For preparing immediately, mix 1/4 cup of sour curd to the flour.

3. Dhal Vada ( Amai vada )

Ingredients:

• Toor dhal - 1 cup
• Urad dhal - 1/2 cup
• Channa dhal - 1/2 cup
• Red chillies - 3 to 4
• Green chillies - 3 to 4
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Ginger - little
• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1.  Wash toor dhal , urad dhal in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

2. Wash channa dhal  2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

3. Drain the water from the dhals.

4. Grind together toor dhal, urad dhal, salt, red chillies, asafoetida powder to a coarse paste. Don't add excess water while grinding.

5. Mix channa dhal with the grinded paste.

6. Peel the skin of ginger and cut it and green chillies to small pieces.

7. Add ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves to the paste and mix it well.

8. Take a plantain leaf and apply little oil on that.

9. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas.

10. Take the vada flour and pat on the plantain leaf to a round shape.

11. When the oil is heated well, take the patted vada flour from leaf and put it in oil.

12.After it is well cooked on both sides and turns slight reddish take it out and serve hot.

Note : You can also add finely chopped onion or cabbage to the flour and make vadas. The taste will be different.

4. Urad dhal Vada

Ingredients:

• Urad dhal - 1 cup
• Green chillies - 4 to 5
• Ginger - little
• Curry leaves - little
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1. Wash urad dhal in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

2. Grind the dhal by adding salt to a fine paste. Don't add more water. If water is excess, it will not be possible to pat vada.

3. Peel the skin of ginger and cut it and green chillies to small pieces.

4. Add ginger, green chillies, curry leaves to the grinded paste and mix it well.

5. Take a plantain leaf and apply little oil on that.

6. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas.

7. Take the vada flour and pat on the plantain leaf to a round shape. Make a small hole in the center.

8. When the oil is heated well, take the patted vada flour from leaf and put it in oil.

9.After it is well cooked on both sides and becomes crispy, take out from oil and serve it hot.

Note : You can also add finely chopped onion or cabbage or cauliflower + peas or cabbage + peas to the flour and make vadas. The taste will be different.

5. Potato Vada

Ingredients:

• Potato - 1/4 kg
• Gram flour - 1/2 cup
• Rice flour - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 4 to 5
• Ginger - little
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1. Boil the potatoes and peel it skin.

2. Smash the potatoes to a fine paste using your hand.

3.  Add salt, gram flour, rice flour to the potatoes and make it like a dough by adding little water.

4.  Peel the skin of ginger and cut it and green chillies to small pieces.

5. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and wait till mustard seeds sputters out.

6. Add mustard seeds, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves , coriander leaves to the flour and mix it well.

7. Take a plantain leaf and apply little oil on that.

8. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas.

9. Take the vada flour and pat on the plantain leaf to a round shape.

10. When the oil is heated well, take the patted vada flour from leaf and put it in oil.

11.After it is well cooked on both sides and becomes crispy, take out from oil and serve it hot.

6. Maida flour vada

Ingredients:

• Maida flour - 2 cups
• Rice flour - 1 cup
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Greeb chillies - 4 to 5
• Ginger - little
• Urad dhal - 1 tsp
• Cashewnut - 6 to 7
• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Salt -  2 tsp
• Ghee or oil - As per need

Method:

This vada can be prepared by using ghee or oil. Ghee is more tastier. Here i have used ghee. If you want to prepare using oil, replace the

word ghee with oil in all places.

1. Mix maida flour and rice flour well.

2. Peel the skin of ginger and cut it and green chillies to small pieces.

3. Take a broad pan and heat 6 to 8 tsp of ghee.

4. When ghee is heated, add mustard seeds.

5. When mustard seeds sputters out, add urad dhal and cashewnut seeds by breaking it to pieces.

6.  Add ginger and green chillies and fry it.

7. Pour 2 1/2 cups of water to it and add salt, asafoetida powder.

8. When it is boiled well, remove it from the flame and put the mixed maida-rice flour to it and mix it well.

9. After 10-15 minutes, take the flour in  a broad plate and add curry leaves and coriander leaves to it.

10. Heat enough ghee in a pan for frying the vadas.

11. Spread little ghee on your hand and make round shaped vada and put in ghee.

12.After it is well cooked on both sides take out from ghee and serve it hot.

7. Curd Vada

Ingredients:

• Urad dhal - 1 cup
• Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
• Green chillies - 6 to 8
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Curd - 2 cups
• Boiled milk - 1/2 cup
• Grated cocunut - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - little
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1. Wash urad dhal and toor dhal in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for 30 minutes.

2. Grind together urad dhal, toor dhal, salt, 2 to 3 green chillies  to a fine paste. Don't add more water. If water is excess, it will not be

possible to pat vada.

3. Gring together grated cocunut, 3 green chillies, ginger ( skin peeled ) to a fine paste.

4. Add milk, grinded paste, salt to curd and mix it well.

5. Chop 2 green chillies to small pieces.

6. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan , add mustard seeds and wait till mustard seeds sputters out.

7. Add the mustard seeds and green chillies to curd.

8. Add curry leaves and coriander leaves to the vada flour.

9. Take a plantain leaf and apply little oil on that.

10. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas.

11. Take the vada flour and pat on the plantain leaf to a round shape.

12. When the oil is heated well, take the patted vada flour from leaf and put it in oil.

13.After it is well cooked on both sides, take it out and wait till the oil is dried.

14. Then put the vada in the curd.

15. While taking out, take out the vada in the bottom of the vessel first.

16. After taking the vadas, if there is remaining curd, spread that on top of vadas.

Note : You can also add thinly sliced carrot to curd.

8. Nine grains Vada

Ingredients:

• Nine grains - 1 cup
• Green chilly - 1
• Red chilly - 1
• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida powder - little
• Oil - As per need

Method:

1. Wash the grains and soak it for 6 hours.

2. Grind together grains, salt, red chilly, green chilly to a fine paste.

3. Add asafoetida powder, curry leaves and coriander leaves to it.

4. Heat enough oil in a pan for frying the vadas.

5. Take the vada flour and pat on the plantain leaf to a round shape.

6. When the oil is heated well, take the patted vada flour from leaf and put it in oil.

7.After it is well cooked on both sides, take it out and serve it hot.