Vada
Encyclopedia
Fritter
A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried. Although very similar to a doughnut it differs in the fact that it requires some base ingredient beyond the dough it is cooked with.-Anglo-American fritters:...
-type snack
Snack
A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. The food might be snack food—items like potato chips or baby carrots—but could also simply be a smaller amount of any food item.-Snacks and health:...
from South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
.
Description
Vada can vary in shape and size, but are usually either doughnutDoughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
- or disc-shaped and are about between 5 and 8 cm across. They are made from dal
Dal
Dal is a preparation of pulses which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these, an important part of Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi cuisine...
, lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
, gram flour
Gram flour
Gram flour is a cereal flour made from ground chickpeas. It is also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour, or besan . Used in many countries, it is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines, and, in the form of a paste with water or yoghurt, a popular facial exfoliant in...
or potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
.
Vada is a traditional South Indian food known from antiquity. Although they are commonly prepared at home, vadas are as well a typical street food in the Indian Subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. They are usually a morning food, but in street stalls and in railway stations, as well as inside the Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
, they are available as a snack all through the day.
Preparation
The general way of preparing vada is to make a paste or dough with gram flour or mashed or diced potatoes and/or dal lentils. This mixture is subsequently seasonedSeasoning
Seasoning is the process of imparting flavor to, or improving the flavor of, food.- General meaning :Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings"...
by mixing with black mustard seeds, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, curry leaves, which are sometimes previously sauteed
Sautéing
Sautéing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being...
, and salt, chili
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
es and/or black pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
grains. Often ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and baking soda are added to the seasoning. The individual vadas are then shaped and deep-fried
Deep frying
Deep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used....
. Certain types of vada are covered in a gram flour batter
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
before frying.
Although battered and deep-fried, the finished product should not be too oily if prepared correctly, since steam build-up within the vada pushes all oil away from within the vada.
Serving
Vada is typically and traditionally served along with a main course such as DosaDosa
Dosa or Dhosai is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is indigenous to and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as being popular in Sri Lanka...
, Idli, or Pongal
Pongal (dish)
Pongal is a popular rice porridge dish based in South India. Pongal is unique to Tamil cuisine, but many other widely consumed Indian dish Khichdi....
. Nowadays it is also ordered as an À la carte
À la carte
À la carte is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in* A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, i.e. the usual operation of restaurants * To order an item from the menu on its own, e.g...
item but is never the main course and is had as a light snack or on the side of another dish and usually not separately as a meal. Vadas are preferably eaten freshly fried, while still hot and crunchy and is served with a variety of dips ranging from Sambar to chutney to curd.
Varieties
The main vada types are:- Uddina vade (Kannada ಉದ್ದಿನ ವಡೆ), Ullundhu vada (Tamil: உளுந்து வடை; Malayalam: ഉഴുന്നു വട Uzhunnu vada), made with Urad dal (black gram) flour. This vada is shaped like a doughnut, with a hole in the middle (i.e. an approximate torusTorusIn geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...
). It is the most common vada type throughout North and South India. - 'Paruppu vadai' (Tamil: பருப்பு வடை; Malayalam: പരിപ്പ് വട). A dal vada whose main ingredient is toor dal. It is made with the whole lentils and is shaped roughly like a flying saucerFlying saucerA flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
. This type of vada is also called aamai vadai (Tamil ஆமை வடை, or "turtle" vadai) in Tamil Nadu.
Other types of vada are:
- Maddur vade (Kannada: ಮದ್ದೂರು ವಡೆ) is a type of onion vada unique to the state of Karnataka. This is typically larger than other vada types, flat, crispy (to the point of breaking when flexed) and having no hole in the middle.
- ambodeAmbodeAmbode is one of the main side dishes prepared during festivals and for many happy occasions in Karnataka. It is a type of fried lentil ball, flavoured with curry leaves, coconut, and asafoetida.-External links:*...
, made from 'split chickpeas without the seed coat' i.e. 'kadale bele' in kannada, 'chana dal' in hindi. - Dahi Vada (दही वडा- Hindi) , made by serving the vada in a mix of yoghurtYoghurtYoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...
and spices). - EruLLi bajji (kannada 'ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ ಬಜ್ಜಿ’) Vengaaya vadai (Tamil வெங்காய வடை Hindi Pyaz vada; Malayalam Uli vada, made with onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
. It is roughly round-shaped, and may or may not have a hole in the middle. - Masala vada, a softer less crisp vada.
- Rava vada, vada made of semolinaSemolinaSemolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, and also used for breakfast cereals and puddings. Semolina is also used to designate coarse middlings from other varieties of wheat, and from other grains such as rice and corn.-Name:The term semolina derives from...
.
- BondaBondaBonda is a typical South Indian snack that has various sweet and spicy versions of it at different regions.-Preparation:The process of making a spicy bonda involves deep-frying potato filling dipped in gram flour batter.Bonda has a sweet and a spicy variant...
, or Batata vadaBatata vadaBatata Vada is a popular Indian vegetarian fast food in Maharashtra, India. It literally means potato fritters. The name "Batata" means potato in English. It consists of a potato mash patty coated with chick pea flour, then deep-fried and served hot with savory condiments called Chutney...
, made with potatoes, garlic and spices coated with lentil paste and fried; this form is used in vada pavVada pavVada pav , sometimes spelled wada pav, is a popular vegetarian fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. It consists of a batata vada sandwiched between 2 slices of a pav. The compound word batata vada refers in Marathi to a vada made out of batata, the latter referring to a potato...
. In some regions, a BondaBondaBonda is a typical South Indian snack that has various sweet and spicy versions of it at different regions.-Preparation:The process of making a spicy bonda involves deep-frying potato filling dipped in gram flour batter.Bonda has a sweet and a spicy variant...
is considered a distinct snack food, and is not held to be a type of vada. - Sabudana vadaSabudana vadaSabudana vada also called 'sago vada', is a traditional deep fried snack from Maharashtra, India. It is often served with spicy green chutney and along with Hot chai and is best eaten fresh.. In other parts of country, Sabudana vada are the best option to have when fasting...
is another variety of vada popular in Maharashtra, made from Pearl SagoSagoSago is a starch extracted in the spongy center or pith, of various tropical palm stems, Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it is called saksak and sagu. A type of flour, called sago flour, is made from sago. The largest supply...
. - Thavala vada, a vada made with different types of lentils.
- Keerai Vada (Spinach Vada) is made with spinach-type leaf vegetableLeaf vegetableLeaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...
s along with lentils. - Vada pav, A vada served in a bunBunA bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....
(known as a pav) with chutneyChutneyChutney is a a condiment used in South Asian cuisine that usually contains a spice and vegetable mix.Chutneys are wet or dry, having a coarse to fine texture. The Anglo-Indian loan word refers to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately, with preserves often sweetened. At least several...
is known as a vada pavVada pavVada pav , sometimes spelled wada pav, is a popular vegetarian fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. It consists of a batata vada sandwiched between 2 slices of a pav. The compound word batata vada refers in Marathi to a vada made out of batata, the latter referring to a potato...
, a common street foodStreet foodStreet food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
in MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, especially in Bombay. - Keema Vada, A vada made from minced meat, typically smaller and more crisp than other vada types with no hole in the middle.
Bhajani Cha Vada: Vada made from a flour made from Bajri, Jawar, Wheat, Rice, Channa Dal, Cumin, Coriander Seeds Etc A speciality of Maharashtra, very nutritious too: