Garelu Recipe – Crispy Minapa Garelu Recipe – Vada Recipe in Mixie

Medu vada / urad dal vada i.e Minapa garelu in Telugu is a popular breakfast and teatime snack recipe all over India. As Varalakshmi viratham is fast approaching, I thought of sharing this Andhra style garelu which is a must to do recipe for Varalakshmi pooja prasad/ neivedyam. My neighbors from Andhra taught me how to make this easy, perfectly crispy minapa vada batter in mixie. I also referred my mixie vada recipe and Mrudula’s cookbook Youtube video for more tips and tricks to make crispy, spongy vada just like hotel ones. Basically urad dal vada is prepared by adding onions  But if we are making for festival and pooja, we should prepare vada without onion. In that case, you can make plain vada or with pepper.

In Andhra, people make it plain without any toppings for Varalakshmi pooja. So I have shared the same in pictures. I have also shared an easy method for shaping vada for beginners. Please refer the video for more details.  As we are grinding the vada batter in mixie, there are certain points to remember to make it perfect. I have listed the tips and tricks below. Please go through the points before you start with this recipe. For grinding more quantity, grind the batter using grinder. Mixie works for small quantity. Ok, Lets see how to make medu vada in mixie with step by step pictures and video.

Check out my Vada recipe using grinder, Pepper vada, Cabbage vada, Mixed vegetable vada and Anjaneyar kovil vadai.

Minapa Garelu Recipe – Crispy Medu Vada Batter in Mixie

Learn how to make Andhra style minapa garelu recipe / Urad dal vada with step by step pictures.

1. Wash and soak urad dal in required water for 4 hours in refrigerator.
2. Grind to a coarse paste adding green chilli, ginger, soaked urad dal without adding water.
3. Wipe the sides. Add 1/4 cup ice water. Grind to smooth paste.
4. Add more water gradually to make a fine, smooth paste.
5. Transfer the vada batter to a vessel. Add rice flour if needed and beat the batter well for 5 minutes.
6. Then add the toppings like onion and other ingredients. Add salt, hing. Mix well and shape vada.
7. Heat oil and deep fry vada by cooking both sides. Remove and serve hot with coconut chutney  as side dish !

GARELU RECIPE – STEP BY STEP PICTURES

• Wash and soak urad dal in required water in refrigerator for 4 hours. If not 4 hours, keep the dal inside the refrigerator atleast for an hour. You can also soak the dal without refrigeration and use ice water only for grinding. Ice water helps to prevent mixie jar getting heated.

                        

• In a big mixer jar, take the soaked urad dal by draining all the water completely. Reserve the soaked ice water in a bowl. Add ginger and green chilli. DO NOT ADD SALT. Grind to a coarse paste without adding water. Wipe the sides of jar and grind it well.

       

                 
• Add 1/4 cup of ice water and grind to paste. Wipe the sides and mix well. Add little more water in few tbsp and grind to a smooth buttery paste without any grits. Do not add more water while grinding. Its the most important point to make perfect vada batter.


                        

• Vada batter should be thick. It should form a stiff peak when you drop the batter. It is the right consistency. Transfer the batter to a vessel.


                        

• Add rice flour if necessary and beat the batter for 5 minutes using a whisk. DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS FOR BEATING THE BATTER. Batter may become watery due to the heat of your hands. Vada batter become fluffy and light.


                        

• Take some water in a bowl. Add a small piece of  Vada batter and check if it floats on top of water. If the batter settles down, you should grind it more or beat more.
• Add some water to the mixie jar. Grind to wash the jar. Transfer the washed water to a small bowl and use it for greasing your hands while shaping vada.

• After beating the batter,  add salt, hing, cumin seeds, Pepper corns (optional) and prepare vada if making for pooja. If you are making for breakfast or snack, add  finely chopped onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves, cumin seeds and pepper corns (optional). Add required salt and hing. Mix well and set aside.
• Heat oil to deep fry. Drop a pinch of batter to check the heat of oil. To shape vada, take a dosa flipper and grease it with water. Grease your hands with water and take some batter. Keep it on the dosa flipper. Make a hole in the center. Invert the ladle and drop the vada in hot oil. Shake the dosa flipper slightly for the vada to drop in oil Or dip the ladle slightly in oil so that vada releases to the oil as soon as it starts to cook.
• For method 2 to shape vada : Grease hands with water and take a small portion of batter. Make a hole the center and shape the vada, Drop in hot oil to deep fry.

• Flip and cook both sides in medium flame till bubbles cease. Remove the vada and serve.
• You can enjoy this crispy, hot vada with coconut chutney, sambar or make curd vada and enjoy !



Enjoy !

Note

Do not add salt while grinding the batter. Beat the batter till fluffy after adding rice flour. Deep fry in medium flame for even cooking. Please check the beginning of this post for more tips and tricks.

Try this medu vada recipe easily in mixie and enjoy the festival !