Ingredients

The following ingredients have 7 Servings
  • For making Vadas
  • Urad dal - 1 cup
  • Salt - to taste
  • Crushed Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp
  • Asafoetida - a pinch
  • Curry leaves - few (finely chopped)
  • Oil - for deep frying
  • For making Shallot Sambar
  • Toor dal - 1/4 cup
  • Sambar onions (Shallots) - 10
  • Garlic-2 pods
  • Tomatoes - 1
  • Sambar Powder - 2 tsp
  • Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Tamarind - a small gooseberry size (optional)
  • Oil - 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  • Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
  • Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
  • Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Dry Red Chili - 2
  • Salt - to taste
  • For garnishing
  • Onion - 1 or 2 (chopped)
  • Coriander leaves - handful (finely chopped)
  • Ghee - as needed

Instruction

  • For making Vada
  • Wash the urad dal and soak it for at least 45 minutes. When this is soaking, you can make the sambar.
  • Drain the excess water and grind the urad dal to a thick batter using a mixie or blender. The water soaked up by dal should be sufficient for grinding. If needed just add 1 or 2 tbsp of water and not any more.
  • Mix in salt, crushed black pepper, chopped curry leaves and asafoetida with the batter.
  • Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying the vadas.
  • Take a small portion of the batter, shape it into vadas and drop into hot oil. I have explained in detail in the recipe for medu vada.
  • Once the vadas are cooked golden brown, remove them on a paper towel. After this it is ready to be dropped in sambar.
  • For making Shallot Sambar
  • Wash the toor dal and soak it with some water. In the meantime, chop the shallots, garlic and tomato. Also soak the tamarind in enough water.
  • Take the soaked toor dal, chopped onion, garlic and tomatoes in a pressure cooker.
  • Add about 2 cups of water, 1 tsp of salt and turmeric powder. Close the cooker and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and pop the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Add dry red chilies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
  • Next add the sambar powder. Add about 2-3 tbsp of the tamarind juice.
  • Now add the pressure cooked dal mixture. Add additional 2 cups of water to bring it to the right consistency.
  • Boil it for about 5 minutes and switch off.
  • For making Sambar Vada
  • Take about 1 cup of sambar in a big bowl. Add 1 cup of hot water and a pinch of salt to dilute it.
  • Soak all the vadas in this for about 5 minutes. The vadas need to be soaked in hot diluted sambar so that it absorbs the flavors of the sambar.
  • When you are ready to serve, take couple of vadas carefully into a serving bowl. The vadas would have swelled up, so be careful not to break it.
  • Pour additional sambar to submerge the vadas fully.
  • Add finely chopped onions and coriander leaves on top.
  • Add few drops of ghee on top and serve hot.