WOYP Day #29 - Maddur Vade

The last time I made Maddur vade (pronounced vade-y) was almost a decade ago. The name for these vade comes from the small town in Karnataka, Maddur. Crisp vade with a soft interior laced with onions, there is simply no reason not to like these! We used to look forward to these hot vade on train journeys from Mysore to Bangalore and back. The heavenly aroma would waft through the compartments and I don’t remember a single time I haven’t gorged on this precious vada on any journey. Just the thought is surely making me drool! 

The original recipe is a closely guarded secret like most popular dishes and we have to make do with a version that’s as close to the original as possible. I tried with different proportions and also used Upma Rava instead of fine Rava this time. This yielded a crispier vade and tasted just as good.

Maddur Vade:

You will need:
Makes: About 18 (4”) Vadas

1 onion, very thinly sliced
4 green chillies, finely chopped
6 curry leaves, finely chopped
1 cup Sooji/Semolina (Upma Rava)
1/2 cup Rice flour
1 cup All-purpose flour (Maida)
2 tsp Butter, melted
1 tbsp White sesame seeds
1 tbsp Hot oil
1.5 tsp Salt adjust to taste
1 tbsp chopped Peanuts, roasted and skinned (optional)

Oil for frying
Water as required

It is important to get the right consistency in the vade dough to ensure crispy Vade. This largely depends on the quantity of water used to mix the dough. Also the dough does not need to rest, so have cooking oil ready for frying on low heat before you start mixing the dough.

Heat oil on  medium-low in a deep pan for frying.

Combine the sliced onions, chopped green chillies, chopped curry leaves in a large mixing bowl. Squish to make the onions moist. Now add the sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, flours and salt. Combine and then add hot oil and the butter. Mix well. Slowly add water until the dough comes together, soft but not sticky..this is very important. A sticky dough results in soft vadas, we don’t want that! So go slow with the water.

Increase oil heat to medium high. Cut out a small square piece of parchment paper.

Take a small piece of dough. Drizzle little oil on the parchment. Place the dough on top and using your fingers pat into a thin disc about 4” wide. Take care not to make it too thin. Gently tip parchment with one hand while peeling the vade into your other hand. 

Slide gently into the hot oil. Fry for 30-40 seconds on each side until light brown. 

Remove and drain briefly on a paper towel lined plate. Serve warm. 

Restaurants back in Karnataka serve it with coconut chutney but we gorged on ours just as is. 

These can be stored in an air tight container for 3 days.