Starters

Medu Vada – crispy lentil rings

An airy batter made from urad dal lentils is fried into rings and served with sambar soup or chutney.

300 minDifficulty: medium
Medu Vada - crispy golden brown lentil rings with coconut chutney

Ingredients

Servings4
  • 250 g urad dal lentilspeeled and split
  • 1 piece green chilifinely chopped
  • 10 g fresh gingerfinely chopped
  • 10 g fresh curry leaveschopped, optional
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp rice flour
  • 50 g oilEstimated amount absorbed by the batch; use about 1 L for frying and drain the excess. Excess oil is excluded from the nutrition estimate.

Method

  1. Rinse the urad dal and soak in cold water for 3–4 hours. Drain well.
  2. Puree the lentils in small batches with very little water into a thick, spongy paste.
  3. Mix in chili, ginger, curry leaves, salt and rice flour.
  4. Wet your hands. Shape the dough into balls and make a hole in the middle.
  5. Heat the oil to 170 degrees. Fry the vado a few at a time for 3-4 minutes per side until they are golden brown.
  6. Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve hot with chutney or sambar soup.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition values are approximate estimates, not laboratory analyses. Products and portion size affect the result.

Net carbs
30.54 g
Total carbohydrates (incl. fibre and polyols)
36.2 g
Protein
15.44 g
Fat
13.25 g
GL estimate
about 10 / serving

Confidence · Low Some values or assumptions in the calculation are uncertain.

The calculation also uses comparison values from similar foods or food groups.

Estimate details and sources ↗

How was the estimate calculated?

The serving’s GL is calculated from ingredient data. Confidence describes the evidence behind the calculation. Your blood sugar response may vary.

  • urad dal lentils · Food group average
  • rice flour · Food group average

Calculated ingredient-based estimate per serving, not a measurement of the prepared meal. All supported positive carbohydrate amounts are included. An unmatched individual portion under 1 g available carbohydrate per serving may be omitted only while all such portions total less than 2 g per serving; the omitted amount is disclosed. This is an editorial tolerance, not a clinical precision limit.

Research sources and technical details

Source names and technical notes appear in their original form.

  • urad dal lentils · legumes-category-mean-gi-34 · fineli-399-2026-10-24
  • rice flour · rice-category-mean-gi-67 · fineli-182-2026-10-24

Carbohydrate data sources

GI and calculation sources

Notes

  • The dough holds together better when the lentils are carefully drained and pureed without excess water.