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Anyways, so S as any other toddler has this nasty habit of turning his head around in a 180 turn, the moment I take food to him. So I usually have to tax my brain to try something new to allure his taste buds. I thought about the usual vadas, bhajjis etc but did not want to give him deep fried food as it is very easy to fall into that temptation and then hard to get them out of it. So somewhere along and had this idea of making “Urad daal vada (medu vada)” as appe.
I was so excited with this idea, that I could not wait to try it. In fact, when I made them I was surprised as they tasted pretty good by themselves. It is good idea for a healthy wholesome snack even for the adults. Of course, they do not taste anywhere near the deep fried ones but nevertheless a filling snack and a healthy substitute.
But then while munching on those goodies I had another wicked idea and that was to put it in the yogurt mix to make “Dahi vada”. After all, anything dipped in yogurt goodness has to taste good, right? 
. This tastes exactly like Dahi Vada/ Dahi Bada/ Thayir Vada.
Ingredients for the urad vada ( appe )
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1 cup urad daal
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Curry leaves
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Ginger
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2-3 green chillies
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Pepper corns
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Salt
Ingredients for the yogurt sauce
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1 cup yogurt (if thick thin it out with little milk)
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2-3 red chillies
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3-4 curry leaves
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Mustard
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Salt, oil
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Soak the urad daal in enough water for about 4-5 hours.
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Grind the soaked urad daal with little water in the grinder to a smooth paste. The batter should not be flowing or too thick either.
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Add salt, diced green chillies, ginger, curry leaves. Mix thoroughly and keep aside.
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Yogurt sauce: The yogurt should not be very thick, thin it out a bit with milk.
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Prepare a seasoning of oil, mustard, curry leaves, red chillies and pour it into the yogurt.
Method:
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Heat the Appe/ Appam skillet and add ½ tsp oil into each groove.
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Make sure that the oil has become hot (not smoking hot). Drop a bit of batter to test and if you hear the sizzling sound, the oil is of the right temperature.
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Add the prepared urad daal batter into each of the grove, so that ¾ of the grove is covered and cover it with a lid.
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Reduce the heat a little bit at this time. After a minute or so, open the lid and with a kitchen knife, run it around the edge of the appe, to see if it is browning.
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Make sure the appe does not turn dark brown or black in color. The one in the middle is the one that gets dark fast.
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If some of the appe can be easily displaced from the grove turn it on the other side, add oil and cook until done. Let the remaining appe cook correctly.
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When turned on the other side, reduce the heat even further and there is no need to cover with lid. This side gets done pretty fast.
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After done, place it in the already prepared yogurt mixture.
This can be served after an hour or so after the yogurt mixture is absorbed into the appe / vadas.
Update: In this recipe I first make the Medu Vada as an Appe (Konkani cooking word) in a Aebleskiver Pan. This ‘Appe’ is also referred to as “Ponganalu/Paniyaram/Uniyappam”. After that I dip them in the seasoned yogurt/curd. I have found very favorable results by using this pan and this forms a healthier alternative to the deep fired variety. There is also no difference in taste. To see how the pan/skillet looks like check here.
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hey love your twist to the dish!!!
absolutely delicious
I am so excited to see this post! I acquired an appam pan only a few months ago, and have been trying to use it in different ways. I had wondered about using it as a dahi vada maker. Now I see you have done it with such delicious results…I have to try this soon!
hey thanx 4 ur son to make u think abt this dish. i like it. will try it soon.
Sounds interesting!!!Thanx for sharing this cool Idea:))
Great idea! My kids like Aloo bajjis and that’s where it ends. They won’t touch any other vadas! Lucky your son likes to eat Dahi vadas. Looks great, lot better than deep fried!:))
I love your ‘wicked idea’.
hey, that is one lovely idea, all accolades to ur toddler
btw, how long would u say u had to cook the appe to get the urad dal cooked thru n thru? would like to try this, tx
RC: Thanks Richa. I have added more instructions in the method. I woud say a minute or until it turns brown. Please take a look.
What a lovely idea, very innovative!
A very good twist. Sure it tastes gr8. Beautiful pics
Thatz a cool idea redchillies….I can say from the pics itself….That its delicious
) Nice one here 
What a great idea that is !! Lovely.. guilt free dahi vadas. So perfect.
please thank your toddler from me. this is the type of dahi vada i’d like to eat too. i hope he goads you to come up with more brilliant ideas.
very clever idea!
Hurray to S and his fussiness
Ok sorry I am sure it gets on your nerves but at least you come up with creative recipes. My hubby loves medu vadas and I am so glad I can make them without deep frying.
This is a wonderful idea! I avoid deep frying but am VERY fond of dahi vada!! done, i’m trying this!!!
wow great one RC
Thanks Padmaja.
Thanks Nupur. Should I say Great Minds think alike
Thanks Swaroopa.
Thanks Rajeswari.
Thanks Asha.
Thanks Sunita.
Thanks Bindiya, Rina.
Thanks Sirisha, Laavanya.
Thanks Bee, Sharmi, Ashwini.
Thanks Manasi, Roopa.
lovely idea. Looks very tasty too.
Dahi wada looks cool, Its been a long time I made them. Tx for refreshing, ok now the guessing game, does ur name start with R?
[...] since it is deep fried we don’t make it a lot and tend to look for alternatives. After I made the urad daal appe, I decided to give this a shot. The final verdict is that, the taste is great, can be made when [...]
hi, i have never used appam pan.How does it look? and from where i can buy it? please post a snap of the same
You know what, I am adding this appey pan in my to buy list immediately, i.e., if I get it in Delhi. I love your version & will surely try it out. Thanks
Hi RC, Really cool idea. I haven’t made vada since long because of deep frying, but always missed them
Now, I can’t wait to try your recipe 
[...] special occasions but most of the time I tend to look for healthier alternatives. After I made the urad daal appe, this was a natural extension to that idea and I decided to give this a shot. The batter that is [...]
[...] This can be eaten as is or with ketchup, chutney and forms a wonderful accompaniment with tea or coffee. Looking for low-calorie medu vada? Check this out! [...]
Hello dear, I tried this low fat version of ulundhu vadai and it was as tasty as deep fried ones.. i am going to make this version from now on. bye bye to deep fried vadas
I love, love, love this!
I am trying to buy an appe pan.. soon. ! Thanks for the cool idea..
wow its a great idea to do a deep fry like this ….. very sure i will try this after buying this type of pan ………..
[...] can also check other recipes using this skillet: Dahi Vada (Appe ), Malai Kofta Curry, Masala [...]
I love this low fat dahi wada too much. Thanks
[...] If you are looking for low-fat alternatives then prepare the bondas in an Aebleskiver Pan as suggested here. [...]