Vada, vadai, wada, or bara is a category of savoury fried
snacks native to India. Vadas can be described variously as
fritters,
cutlets, or
dumplings.[7][8] Vadas are sometimes stuffed with vegetables and traditionally served with chutneys and
sambar.
In
North India and
Pakistan, Bhalla is a similar food. It is sold in
chaat 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),
Saunthchutney (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 (such as
medu vada of South India) to
potatoes (such as
batata vada of
Maharashtra). They are often served as a breakfast item or a snack, and also used in other food preparations (such as
dahi vada,
vada pav, and
doubles).
History
According to
K. T. Achaya, Vadai (Vada) finds mention in
Sangam literature during 100 BCE – 300 CE.[9] A type of vada is mentioned as "vataka" in Manasollasa, a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by
Someshvara III, who ruled from present-day
Karnataka. In this recipe, mung 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 and
Uttar Pradesh also mentions bara (vada) and mungaura (a vada made from
mung).[10]
Many immigrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar migrated to places such as
Trinidad and Tobago,[1]Guyana,[2]Suriname,[3]South Africa,[4]Mauritius,[5] and
Fiji[6] 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
chutneys or achars.[11][12] Many South Indians also migrated to these countries and brought their version of vada. For example, in Guyana it is known as Madrasi bara or waday to distinguish it from the North Indian bara.
For legume-based vadas, the legumes (dal) are soaked with water, and then ground to a
batter. The batter is then
seasoned with other ingredients, such as
cumin seeds,
onion,
curry leaves (sometimes previously
sauteed), salt,
chillies or
black pepper grains. Often
ginger and
baking soda 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, 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.[13]
Vadas are often eaten as snacks or as an accompaniment to another dish. In restaurants, they can be ordered as an
à la carte 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
chutneys and
dahi (yogurt, often called "curd" in
Indian English).
Medu vadas are typically served along with a main course such as
dosa,
idli, or
pongal. Sambar and
coconut chutneys are the standard accompaniments for medu vadas.
Idli and medu vada with sambar and coconut chutney
Medu vada, made with urad dal (black gram) flour. This vada is shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the middle (i.e. an approximate
torus). 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) and uzhunnu vada.
Paruppu vada, is an exclusive staple food authentic of Kerala made with
yellow split peas 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 and an overt dose of spices.
Masala vada, made with
toor dal (whole lentils) and shaped roughly like a disk. It is also referred to as aamai vadai in
Tamil due to its resemblance to a tortoise. Other names include parippu vada (
Malayalam), masala vade (
Kannada).
Maddur vade, a type of onion vada unique to the state of
Karnataka. It is very popular in the
Maddur town of
Karnataka 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
onion. It is roughly round-shaped, and may or may not have a hole in the middle.
Bonda, 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 is another variety of vada popular in Maharashtra, made from pearl
sago.
Thavala vada, a vada made with different types of lentils.
Keerai vada (spinach vada) is made with spinach-type
leaf vegetables along with lentils.
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 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 curry channa (
curried chickpeas) and various chutneys.[12]
^National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.).
Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US).
ISBN978-0-309-48834-1.
PMID30844154.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vada (snack).