PERUGU WADA

PERUGU WADA

by Shravani Abhishek

Perugu Wada/Dahi wada – A comforting and delicious south Indian snack. Deep fried Medu wada’s soaked in sour yogurt/curd and topped with tempering and served chilled with chilli powder sprinkled on top is such a heavenly snack indeed. The moment you cut into the soaked wada’s and have it you’ll never stop with one trust me.

There are many variations across India for this dish called as Dahi bhalle in North Indian region, as Dahi wada in western region, as Dahi bara in eastern region, as thayir wadai in Tamilnadu, as Perugu wada in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh. How beautiful and amazing is it find one dish with so many variations across this beautiful country.

Medu Wada is one of a delicious south Indian tiffins which is loved by many and it is our family favorite too. Whenever my mom used to make the medu wada’s for breakfast, she used to make few extra to make the dahi wada’s/thayir wadai(as they say in Tamil)/Perugu wada(in telugu). We usually make these medu wada’s as offering to the God during festivals, or during get togethers with friends and family or during any occasions.

We usually at our home just top it with some sprinkle of chilli powder, and add some fried boondi occasionally on top for some crunch. Recipe follows as below, refer the tips at the bottom of the page for help.

Ingredients

FOR MEDU WADA’S
Urad dal – 1 cup
Peppercorns – 8-10
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Onion – 1 small, finely chopped
Cilantro – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Curry leaves – 10 leaves tear into small pieces
Ginger – 1/4 inch, finely chopped
Oil – for deep frying
 

FOR SOAKING THE WADA’S
Yogurt/curd – 2 cups
Salt – to taste
Water – 1/2 cup

FOR TEMPERING
Oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Green chillies – 2 
Curry leaves – 1 sprig of leaves

FOR TOPPING
Chilli powder 
Cilantro 

PROCEDURE

Prepping 

1. Wash and soak the urad dal overnight(recommended) or at least for 3-4 hours.
2. Transfer the urad dal to the blender jar and add peppercorns, cumin seeds, salt.
3. Blend the dal to smooth paste with just adding 1-2 tsp of water until it is smooth
4. Now transfer the batter to the mixing bowl and add chopped onions, cilantro, curry leaves, chopped ginger and mix it well. 

Making the Wada’s
1. Heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan/kadai on high heat for 8-10 min and then reduce to medium.
2. Take a plate and place a wet napkin on it and take a bowl of water and batter ready
3. Now wet your hands by dipping into the water bowl and take handful of wada batter and place it on wet napkin and flatten it and make a hole in center
4. Now slowly lift the napkin and take the wada and release it slowly to the hot oil and flip it after 2-3 min and fry until they’re turned to golden brown.
5. Now add them to a bowl filled of water and let them soak and double up.
 
Soaking the Wada’s in the Curd/Yogurt
1. Take a mixing bowl/large sealable box and add curd/yogurt and whisk finely till it attains smooth consistency. 
2. Now Add half cup of water, salt and give a nice stir.
3. Now take one wada at a time out of the bowl and gently squeeze out the water and add them to the whisked curd mix.
4. Repeat for all the remaining wada’s and seal it and place in refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

Tempering for the dahi wada
1. Heat a small tempering pan and once it’s hot add 2 tbsp of oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let it splutter.
2. Now slit green chillies, curry leaves and let the fry until crisp.
3. Add this tempering to the soaked Dahi wada’s and serve it with topping by sprinkling some chilli powder, cilantro leaves.


TIPS
1. You can also top it with some grated carrots, chopped onions, green chillies, fried boondhi for more crunch and textures.
2. You can skip out adding chopped onions and green chillies in the batter and fry it as is.
3. If you’re not able to make Wada’s properly try adding 2-3 tbsp of semolina(rava) to the batter and keep it aside for 15-20 min and then try making it.
4. Or you can try refrigerating the batter for 1 hour and then make the wada’s, this trick really worked for me to get perfect shaped wada’s every time.

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