Vada is a category of savoury fried

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

s native to South India. Vadas can be described variously as

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

cutlet Cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', " rib") refers to: # a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken # a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a ''cotoletta ...

s, or

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fi ...

s. Alternative names for this food include vadai, vade, and bada. Vadas are sometimes stuffed with vegetables and traditionally served with chutneys and sambar. In

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, Bhalla is a similar food. It is sold in

chaat Chaat, or chāt (IAST: ''cāṭ)'' () is a family of savoury snacks that originated in North India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in North India, Pakistan, Nepal and ...

shops and kiosks; Green bean paste is added with spices, which is then deep fried to make croquets. They are then garnished with dahi (yogurt), Saunth

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce. ...

(dried ginger and tamarind sauce) and spices. Bhalla is usually served cold unlike the Aloo Tikki. The various types of vadas are made from different ingredients, ranging from

legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

(such as

medu vada Medu vada (; ) is a South Indian breakfast snack made from ''Vigna mungo'' (black lentil). It is usually made in a doughnut shape, with a crispy exterior and soft interior. A popular food item in South Indian cuisine it is generally eaten as a bre ...

of South India) to

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

(such as

batata vada Batata vada ( mr, बटाटा वडा, ) is a popular vegetarian fast food dish from the Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish consists of a mashed potato patty coated with chick pea flour, which is then deep-fried and served hot with chu ...

of West India). They are often served as a breakfast item or a snack, and also used in other food preparations (such as

dahi vada Dahi vada is a type of ''chaat'' (snack) originating from the Indian state of Karnataka. It is prepared by soaking vadas (fried lentil balls) in thick dahi (yogurt). Names Dahi vada is also known as "dahi vade" () in Marathi, ''dahi barey/dahi ...

and

vada pav Vada pav, alternatively spelt wada pao, is a vegetarian fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish consists of a deep fried potato dumpling placed inside a bread bun (''pav'') sliced almost in half through the middle. ...

History

According to K. T. Achaya, Vadai (Vada) was popular among ancient

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

during 100 BCE – 300 CE. A type of vada is mentioned as "vataka" in ''

Manasollasa The ' also known as ''Abhilashitartha Chintamani'', is an early 12th-century Sanskrit text composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king Someshvara III, who ruled in present-day Karnataka . It is an encyclopedic work covering topics such as polity, gove ...

'', a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by

Someshvara III Someshvara III (; ) was a Western Chalukya king (also known as the Kalyani Chalukyas), the son and successor of Vikramaditya VI. He ascended the throne of the Western Chalukya Kingdom in 1126 CE, or 1127 CE. Someshvara III, the third king in t ...

, who ruled from present-day

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. In this recipe, green beans are soaked, de-skinned, and ground to a paste. The paste is shaped into balls and deep-fried. Early literature from the present-day states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

also mentions ''bara'' (vada) and ''mungaura'' (a vada made from mung). Many immigrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar migrated to places such as

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in the mid-19th century to the early 20th century as indentured laborers. Bara became an important part of the Indian cuisine in these countries. In Trinidad and Tobago, bara became a component of one of their most famous street foods called doubles. Doubles is served with two baras filled with curried channa and topped with various

s or achars.

Preparation

Vadai (Vada) may be made from

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...

. Commonly used legumes include

pigeon pea The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeas ...

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

black gram ''Vigna mungo'', also known as black gram, urad bean, urid bean, mash kalai, uzhunnu parippu, ulundu paruppu, minapa pappu, uddu, or black matpe, is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative, the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the ...

and

green gram The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

. Vegetables and other ingredients are added to improve taste and nutritive value. For legume-based vadas, the legumes (''dal'') are soaked with water, and then ground to a batter. The batter is then

seasoned Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". H ...

with other ingredients, such as

cumin seeds Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

curry leaves A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

(sometimes previously sauteed), salt,

chilli Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

es or

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...

grains. Often

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

and

baking soda Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...

are added to the seasoning in shops to increase the fluffy texture and improve fermentation for large batches. The mixture is then shaped and

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Normal ...

, resulting in vadas with a crispy skin and fluffy centre. The preparation of ''kalmi'' vadas involves cutting the resulting product into pieces and re-frying them.

Serving

Vadas are often eaten as snacks or as an accompaniment to another dish. In restaurants, they can be ordered as an

à la carte In restaurants, ''à la carte'' (; )) is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a menu in a restaurant, as opposed to ''table d'hôte'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according t ...

item, but are not the main course. They are preferably eaten freshly fried, while still hot and crunchy. They are served with a variety of dips including sambar, watery or dry

s and dahi (yogurt, often called "curd" in

Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. E ...

Medu vada Medu vada (; ) is a South Indian breakfast snack made from ''Vigna mungo'' (black lentil). It is usually made in a doughnut shape, with a crispy exterior and soft interior. A popular food item in South Indian cuisine it is generally eaten as a bre ...

s are typically served along with a main course such as

dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufville ...

idli Idli or idly () is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from the South India,popular as breakfast foods in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and ric ...

, or

pongal Pongal may refer to: * Pongal (festival), an annual Tamil festival * Pongal (dish) Pongal, also known as pongali or huggi, is an Indian rice dish. In Tamil, "pongal" means "boil" or "bubbling up". The two varieties of pongal are ''chakarai pong ...

. Sambar and

coconut chutney Coconut chutney is a south Indian chutney, a side-dish or a condiment, common in the Indian subcontinent. The condiment is made with coconut pulp ground with other ingredients such as green chillies, tamarind, salt, coriander and water. Coconut ...

s are the standard accompaniments for medu vadas. Idli wada sambar chutney.jpg ,

Idli Idli or idly () is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from the South India,popular as breakfast foods in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and ric ...

and medu vada with sambar and coconut chutney Dahi Vadas (Dhai Bhalla).JPG ,

Dahi vada Dahi vada is a type of ''chaat'' (snack) originating from the Indian state of Karnataka. It is prepared by soaking vadas (fried lentil balls) in thick dahi (yogurt). Names Dahi vada is also known as "dahi vade" () in Marathi, ''dahi barey/dahi ...

(vadas with yogurt and

chaat masala Chaat masala, also spelled chat masala, is a powder spice mix, or masala, originating from South Asia, typically used to add flavor to chaat. It typically consists of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, coriander, dried ginger, salt (often black ...

) Vada Pavs.jpg , Vada pav from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

3 Vadas stacked.jpg, 3 Vadas stacked

Varieties

The various types of vadas include: * ''

'', made with ''

urad dal ''Vigna mungo'', also known as black gram, urad bean, urid bean, mash kalai, uzhunnu parippu, ulundu paruppu, minapa pappu, uddu, or black matpe, is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative, the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the ...

'' (black gram) flour. This vada is shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the middle (i.e. an approximate

torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not tou ...

). It is the most common vada type throughout South India and the most recognisable throughout India. It is also known as ''ulundhu vadai'', ''uddina vade'', ''minapa vada'' (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

) and ''uzhunnu vada''. * ''Paruppu vada'', is an exclusive staple food authentic of Tamil Nadu made with

yellow split peas Split peas are an agricultural or culinary preparation consisting of the dried, peeled and split seeds of ''Pisum sativum'', the pea. Harvesting The peas are spherical when harvested, with an outer skin. The peas are dried and the dull-coloure ...

green chillies, whole red chillies onions and salt(nothing more nothing less). It tastes entirely different to other similarly shaped vada's available in south India made of some type of

lentils The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest produ ...

and an overt dose of spices. * ''Masala vada'', made with

toor dal Toor may refer to: * toor (Unix) a secondary root account * Pigeon pea, or toor dal * A branch of the Tomar/Tanwar Dynasty People with the surname * Cecil J. Toor (1895–1969), American football coach * Devinder Toor (born 1967/1968), Canadian ...

(whole lentils) and shaped roughly like a disk. It is also referred to as ''aamai vadai'' in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

due to its resemblance to a tortoise. Other names include ''parippu vada'' (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

), ''masala vade'' (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

). * '' Maddur vade'', a type of onion vada unique to the state of

. It is very popular in the Maddur town of

and has a very different taste from any other vada types. It is typically larger than other vada types and is flat, crispy (to the point of breaking when flexed) without a hole in the middle. It originally started as a snack at the Maddur railway station on the Bengaluru – Mysuru railway line. Maddur was the halfway mark on this line and most trains would stop there with passengers buying this tasty snack. * '' Ambode'', made from "split chickpeas without the seed coat" i.e. ''kadale bele'' in Kannada. * Mosaru Vade, made by cooking a vada normally, and then serving the vada in a mix of dahi (yogurt) and spices. * ''Eerulli bajji'', also known as ''uli vada'' (Malayalam): made with

. It is roughly round-shaped, and may or may not have a hole in the middle. * ''Rava vada'', made of

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Etymo ...

. * ''

Bonda Bonda is a deep-fried South Indian potato snack that has various sweet and savory versions in different regions. The most common is ''aloo bonda'' ( potato ''bonda''), and other region-specific variations include potato replaced with sweet po ...

'', made with potatoes, garlic and spices coated with lentil paste and fried. In some regions, a bonda is considered a distinct snack food, and is not held to be a type of vada. * ''

Sabudana vada Tapioca pearls, also known as tapioca balls, are edible translucent spheres produced from tapioca, a starch made from the cassava root. They originated as a cheaper alternative to sago in Southeast Asian cuisine. When used as an ingredient in b ...

'' is another variety of vada popular in Maharashtra, made from pearl

. * ''Thavala vada'', a vada made with different types of lentils. * ''Keerai vada'' (spinach vada) is made with spinach-type

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

s along with lentils. * ''

Batata vada Batata vada ( mr, बटाटा वडा, ) is a popular vegetarian fast food dish from the Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish consists of a mashed potato patty coated with chick pea flour, which is then deep-fried and served hot with chu ...

'' (potato vada). Often served in the form of

, with a

bun A bun is a type of bread roll, typically filled with savory fillings (for example hamburger). A bun may also refer to a sweet cake in certain parts of the world. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, buns are most commonly round, and are g ...

(known as a ''pav'') and

; a common

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, especially in Mumbai. * ''Keema vada'', a vada made from minced meat, typically smaller and more crisp than other vada types with no hole in the middle. * ''Vada

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

'' or ''vada sambhar'' is a gravy dish that is made with prepared vadas blended with a vegetables in a curry or a gravy format * ''Bhajani cha vada'': a vada made from a flour made from bajri, jawar, wheat, rice, channa dal, cumin, coriander seeds etc. A speciality of Maharashtra, very nutritious too *'' Doubles'': a snack is made with two baras filled with ''

channa'' ( curried chickpeas) and various chutneys. File:PalakVada.jpg, Palak Vada File:Uzhunnu vada.jpg,

or uddina vada Parippuvada kattanchayaa.JPG, Masala vada or Paruppu Vada or 'aamai' tortoise vadai File:Batata Vada.jpg, Batata Vada File:Medur Vada 2.jpg, Maddur Vada File:Neem Flower Vada.jpg, Neem Flower Vada File:Ulundu vada.jpg, ulundu vada File:FOOD Doubles 2.jpg, A Trinidadian doubles that consist of two baras filled with curried channa File:Bhalla Papri Chaat with saunth chutney.jpg, ''Bhalla

Papri chaat Papri chat or papri chaat (ISO: ) is a popular traditional fast food and street food from the Indian subcontinent, in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Many various additional dishes throughout India are also referred to as papri chat. Some ...

'' in dahi (yogurt) with Saunth

References

External links