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April 18, 2016

Thayir Vadai Recipe – South Indian Dahi Vada / Curd Vada

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Thayir vadai recipe 
I am a big big fan of Tamil nadu style thayir vadai. I love this South Indian style dahi vada more than sambar vadai & rasa vadai. My FIL used to buy thayir vadai/Curd vada ( Perugu vada in Telugu) from hotel Saravana bhavan and Guptha sweets whenever we visit Salem. Vada tastes soft and spongy soaked up in curd with a nice flavor. On Tamil new year day, I made no onion urad dal Vada/Ulundhu vadai for Pooja. Then I prepared this Thairu vadai using the leftover vada. It came out very well. I served it by garnishing with grated carrot & kara boondhi just like the way served in restaurants. We loved it very much. Long back I have shared my daughter’s favorite North Indian Dahi vada recipe. And now I am happy to share my most favorite South Indian dahi vada which is our thayir vadai recipe with you all. Try it during this Summer Vacation and enjoy with your family. Lets see how to make South Indian Thayir vadai/Curd Vada Recipe.

Thayir vadai

Thayir Vadai Recipe - Curd Vada


Thayir Vadai Recipe - Curd Vada Thayir Vadai - South Indian Dahi vada/ Curd Vada Recipe
Cuisine: South Indian
Category: Snacks
Serves: Serves 5
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 50 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
For making vada
  • White round Urad dal - 1/2 cup
  • Green chillies - 2nos
  • Ginger - 1 inch piece
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Asafetida/Hing - 2 pinches
  • Salt & water - as needed
For Curd Vada
  • Fresh thick curd - 1 cup
  • Water - 2 tbsp
  • Salt - as needed
To temper
  • Cooking oil - 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1/4 tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Cashew nuts - few
  • Hing - a pinch
To garnish
  • Grated carrot - 2-3 tbsp
  • Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
  • Kara boondhi - as needed
METHOD

  • Wash and soak the urad dal for an hour or two. Drain the excess water completely. In a big mixie jar, grind green chillies, ginger and hing without adding water. Add the drained urad dal and grind it without water. It would grind coarsely.Wipe the sides of mixie jar. Now add 2 tbsp of water.Grind again. Add water in only a tsp or tbsp at regular intervals and grind a smooth & soft batter. Batter should not be watery or too thick. It should be airy & weightless. So add less water and grind the batter patiently. You can use ice cold water too. Do not add salt while grinding the batter. Remove the batter and check its consistency. For this,drop a pinch of batter in a bowl of water. If it floats on top, batter is just right. Remove the creamy batter in a bowl. Beat it well using your hands or an egg beater to make the batter airy( Updated tip from Sujata).Add finely chopped curry leaves, Pepper powder if you wish and required salt if you are going to make vada immediately. Else keep the batter in the refrigerator till use without adding salt.
  • Heat oil to deep fry and check its temperature by dropping a pinch of batter. If it rises immediately, oil temperature is right. Simmer the flame and drop the vada into the oil.Fry in batches,3-4 at a time in medium flame. Remove in a tissue once it turns golden on both the sides. Make 5 vada and keep it ready.
Check out my Medhu vada recipe using MIXIE for more details !
Thayir vadai recipe
  • Take 1 cup of thick curd in a wide bowl. Add 2 tbsp of water or little more and whisk it. Add salt and check for taste.Make sure curd is not too thick or too watery.
Thayir vadai
  • Now boil water in a wide bowl till it starts to bubble. Drop the vada in the water. Let it be inside hot water for just a minute. Then remove the vada and put it in the curd mixture.
Thayir vadai
  • Let the vada soak in curd mixture for 30 minutes to 4 hours. Make sure vada is well immersed in curd mixture.Temper mustard seeds, urad dal, hing, curry leaves, cashews and add to the curd. You can also add a finely chopped green chilli and add while tempering.
  • Just before serving, add finely chopped coriander leaves, grated carrot and Kara boondhi. Serve immediately and enjoy !!
Thayir vadai
  • Yummy Tamil nadu style thayir vadai is ready !! Enjoy !

Note
  • Grinding vada batter properly is more important. If the vada turns out hard, it won’t absorb the curd mixture properly. In that case, you can dip the vada in hot water for 30 minutes before putting in curd mixture.
  • For variations, you can grind green chillies+ginger to a paste and mix with curd instead of grinding with urad dal. But add less green chillies ( 1 or 2) because curd mixture will become too spicy.
  • Dipping in hot water helps the vada to become soft and absorb the curd mixture.
  • If the curd is too thick, vada won't absorb it.So add little water & whisk it & dilute before you drop the vada.
  • Don’t worry even if the vada is too cold or at room temperature. Dipping in hot water makes it warm and helps to absorb the curd.So you can make thayir vadai with leftover vadai easily as I did.
  • Do not forget to garnish with coriander leaves, grated carrot and kara boondhi.
Curd vada recipe
Enjoy this yummy, creamy, spongy, juicy thayir vadai !! Tastes absolutely yum !!
South Indian curd vada


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4 comments :

Sujata said...

Hi chitra. Love your blog & your humility.
I use a mixie too - but the vadas from mixie-batter generally do not come out soft like the stone-ground batter. THE TRICK is to make the batter in the mixie, then beat it well & deep fry immediately. I use a fork to beat it, I think one may also use an egg-beater. The 'beaten batter' Vadas turned out to be exactly like the 'stone-ground vadas,' crunchy outside and soft inside. Just wanted to share this simple trick.

Chitra said...

Hi sujata, Thanks for your sweet words.Yes, Your tip is really useful. I used to beat the batter using my hands.Using a beater is a good option. I have added your tip in the post :) Thanks again !

Unknown said...

Thayir vadai is one of my favourite. Whenever I make vada I always make a few extra for thayir vada. Thanks for sharing your recipe Chitra .

Chitra said...

Thank you Ruwani :)