Garelu is a traditional Andhra recipe which is crispy from the outside and soft from the inside. They are prepared by soaking minapappu or urad dal, blending soaked dal to a smooth, tight batter, and deep-frying to a nice golden brown color.
Vada is a very common and popular breakfast or snack recipe. Idli vada is the most popular breakfast combo available either in a street-side stall or in a 5-star hotel. It is served along with chutney and sambar.
Garelu is also offered as a prasadam for the god or deity for any of the Hindu festivals. Usually, we will not add onions while offering to a god.
We can prepare many variations of garelu like plain garelu, Ulli (onion) garelu, perugu garelu, pakkam garelu. To make them more healthy, we can also add some grated carrots or any veggies of your choice.
How to prepare batter:
1. Soak the minapappu or urad dal for a minimum of 5-6 hrs.
2. Add the soaked minapappu to the blender or a wet grinder.
3. Grind it to a smooth and tight batter by adding little by little water when required.
4. Take batter in a mixing bowl, beat it for 4-5 mins. If you grinded the batter in a wet grinder, you can skip this step. Add slat and mix well.
How to prepare Garelu or Vada:
1. Heat oil in a kadai, when oil is hot enough, wet your hands, take a big lime size batter.
2. Flatten it with thumb and make a hole at the center. If not comfortable doing them on hands, you can use a thick plastic cover or a banana leaf to flatten the batter and get a nice round shape.
3. Slide the batter into the hot oil.
4. Repeat the steps 2 and 3 to make some more and drop them in oil.
5. When they turns slightly golden, flip them and fry them on a medium flame in batches to cook them perfectly. If you fry them on a high flame, they turns golden but wont be cooked inside.
5. When they turns golden on both sides, remove and place them on a tissue paper remove any excess oil.
6. Serve garelu hot. It’s a great combination for Idli or the only vada is served along with sambar.
Garelu or Medu Vada
Ingredients
- 1 cup Minapappu or Urad dal
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds or Methi Seeds
- 1 tbsp Salt
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Take a cup of minapappu or urad dal, wash it twice, and soak them for 5-6 hrs.
- Add the minapappu to a blender.
- Grind them to a smooth and tight batter adding very little by little water.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the batter for 4-5 minutes. By doing this we will get very soft and fluffy garelu. If you are grinding the batter in a wet grinder, skip this. Add salt to the batter and mix well. just add the salt.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a kadai.
- When the oil is hot enough, wet your hands and take a big lime size ball of batter. Flatten the batter using your thumb and make a hole at the center. You can also make them on a thick plastic cover or on a banana leaf.
- Slowly slide the batter into the oil and fry it on a medium flame.
- Similarly, make the other vada's.
- When the vada starts turning golden, flip them and fry till golden on both sides.
- Serve hot garelu with idli, chutney and sambar.
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