Crispy Uraddal - Pepper Fritters / Minapa Vadalu

Fourth week of BM#17 starts from today and I have chosen "vadas / fritters" as my theme. I am going with these crispy, urad dal fritters for my Day 1 post. These vadas are used to form the "vadamala"  - the garland of urad dal fritters, offered to Lord Hanuman on Hanuman Jayanthi festival or as an offering at temples. While the regular vadas are soft and fluffy these are on the crispier side and are spicy.
Though traditionally made for religious purposes, they are a wonderful accompaniment to evening coffee / tea.

Ingredients:
1 cup black gram / urad dal
1 - 2 tsp rice flour
Salt to taste
Coarsely crushed pepper as per taste (Usually the vadas are on the spicier side.)
Oil to fry

Method:
* Soak urad dal for about an hour. Drain and grind dal into a coarse, thick batter adding no water. Or add a couple of teaspoons of water if grinding becomes difficult.
* Meanwhile, start heating oil in a frying pan or a kadai on medium flame.
* Transfer the ground dal to a bowl. Add rice flour, crushed pepper, salt and a Tbsp of hot oil to the dal and mix well. Addition of rice flour and hot oil is to ensure that the vadas stay on crispier side.
* Take a big marble sized batter and pat the batter ball as thinly as possible on a greased plastic sheet. Poke a hole at the center with the index finger. Open your right hand and gently flip the sheet onto the fingers so that disc is transferred to your hand. Gently slide it into the hot oil for frying. Fit as many vadas as the kadai can hold. Fry them on low - medium flame until golden brown. Keep flipping in between to ensure uniform cooking. 
If vadas are made for snacking, there is no need to poke the holes in discs. The holes are meant to thread the garland.
* Repeat the steps with the remaining batter, greasing the plastic sheet each time you use it.
* Store them in an airtight container.
  

Check what the other marathoners are cooking during BM#17.

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