Medu (Savoury doughnuts) | Medium | 2 hours and 30 min | 4 servings | Snack

Crisp doughnuts made with a spiced lentil batter. A wonderful little snack when served with a fresh chutney. The vada is a generic type of snack from South India and this one looks like a doughnut where the hole is a defining feature. It’s made by soaking split urid and spicing them up with cumin and fresh green chillies. These should be lovely and soft inside and crisp from the outside, so make sure the butter is the right consistency. Top tip – don’t let the batter sit around cook these straight away. Tools and equipment

~~ mortar and pestle ~~wok or kharai ~~sieve ~~blender

Directions Ingredients For the stew: Drain the lentils in a sieve and start to grind the cumin and peppercorns in a pestle and mortar. • 250g split urid dhal, soaked for • 1 onion, chopped roughly 1 Heat the oil for frying in a kharai or wok. 2 hours • 2 green chillies 2 • 1 tsp black peppercorns • 1 tsp salt 3 Place the lentils, chilli, spices, salt and ground spices into a blender and grind to a thick paste like batter • 1 tbs cumin seeds • Rapeseed oil to deep fry almost a bit like putty. If it is too dry add a touch of water, but not too much as you do not want a watery batter. 4 Test by dropping in little batter. If it bubbles and rises straight away then it is ready. 5 Wet your hand and scoop up a small hand full of the mixture. 6 Gently push a thumb hole into the centre of the vada giving it its characteristic doughnut shape. 7 Carefully place the vada into the hot oil and cook until a golden brown colour on both sides. Notes: These light crisp doughnuts should be served with a and a chutney 8 Remove and set on some kitchen roll. Source: Hari Ghotra (http://www.harighotra.co.uk)