Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu is an art. Made well, these small Ash Gourd Wadis (Fryums/Small Papads) can be light as air and crunchy. Use too much batter and the vadiyalu turn rock hard and then any crunch you hear is most likely from a tooth or two cracking. 😀 😀
Andhra Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
We Indians are a sentimental lot. Whenever we travel to our “native place” (aka cities, towns, or villages that the family originates from), we come back laden with all kinds of goodies that remind of us of our roots. When we went to Andhra every year, we used to come back with Pootarekulu, Madatha Kajalu, Bandar Laddu, Telaga Pindi, Mammdidi Tandra, and of course, Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu.
Native place is a concept that is a tad confusing to non-Indians. I grew up in Mumbai and live here. However, I still name the cities my parents grew up in as my “native place”. Never mind the fact that I visit these places just about once in two years. And I am inordinately proud of everything associated with these places. 🙂
Coming back to Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu, they are ridiculously easy to make and turn out just perfect as long as you observe a couple of rules. First, we need to remove every bit of water from the Ash Gourd and second the proportion of Udad dal batter we use should be just enough to bind and hold these ash gourd pieces together. Too much batter, and you will have vadiyalu that taste quite yucky and worse still cost you a pretty penny in dental work.
So here I am with a detailed step-by-step recipe to make the perfect Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu. Believe you me, all you need is some patience and you will be rewarded with light-as-air vadiyalu.
Do try my recipes for Aviri Vadiyalu, Pela Vadiyalu, and Atukula Vadiyalu.
Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
Recipe for Andhra Boodida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
Andhra Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
Ingredients
- 3 Kgs Budida Gummadikaya, Ash Gourd
- 400 Gms Minapa Pappu
- 50 Gms Pachi Mirapakayalu, Green Chillies
- 2 Tsp Turmeric
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
- Wash the ash gourd and cut into thin pieces about 1" in length.
- Add 2 tbsp salt, mix well and let it rest for half-an-hour.
- Take small handfuls of the ash gourd and squeeze all the water out of it. Transfer the squeezed pieces into another container.
- When all the ash gourd pieces are squeezed of the moisture, transfer them into a cotton cloth and make a bundle.
- Squeeze the bundle to remove any water that might be left.
- Hang the bundle for at least 4 hours to get rid of any moisture.
- Wash and soak the udad dal in enough water for at least 4 hours.
- Drain all the water from the dal and grind to a thick paste.
- Grind the green chillies to a coarse paste.
- Mix together the ash gourd pieces, the udad batter, turmeric, salt, and green chilli paste.
- Spread a cotton cloth or plastic sheet in an area that remains sunny for at least 6 to 8 hours in a day.
- Drop 1 tbsp of batter at a time onto the cloth/plastic sheet to form the vadiyalu.
- Let the vadiyalu sun dry for at least 4 days. Flip them over every day so that they dry completely.
- Store in an air-tight container.
- Deep-fry the Boodida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu just before serving.
How to Make Andhra Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
Makes: Approximately 150 x 1.5″ vadiyalu
Ingredients
- Budida Gummadikaya or Ash Gourd – 3 Kgs
- Minapa Pappu, Udad Dal – 400 gms
- Pachi Mirapakayalu, Green Chillies – 50 gms
- Turmeric – 2 tsp
- Salt to Taste
- Water
Recipe with Step-by-Step Method for Andhra Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu | Boodida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
- Just before you make the batter, grind the green chillies to a coarse paste.
- Getting the Udad Dal Batter Ready
- Wash the udad dal well under running water.
- Soak the udad dal in about 1.5 litres of water for about 4 hours. I soaked them overnight. More water will not harm but less will so be generous.
- Drain all the water from the soaked dal.
- Grind the dal in a thick paste (like for Medu Vada) without adding any water.
- Prepping the Budida Gummadikaya | Ash Gourd
- Wash the ash gourd well. Do not peel.
- Chop it into small pieces, about 1/4″ in width and 1″ in length.
- Place these pieces in a large vessel.
- Now add 2 tbsp salt.
- Mix well and set aside for about 30 minutes. Salting is essential as it draws out all the moisture from the ash gourd. You will be surprised as how much water this vegetable releases.
- Wait till the ash gourd reduces in volume and releases the water.
- Drain all the excess water.
- Take small handfuls of the ash gourd. Squeeze all the water from it and transfer to another vessel. The idea is to remove as much moisture as you can.
- Wrap the ash gourd pieces in a white cotton cloth.
- Make a tight bundle.
- Once again, squeeze the cloth wrapped pieces well to drain any excess water.
- Place it at a location where water can drain. Now place a really heavy weight on it. Make sure you have placed this arrangement at a place where the water can drain away from the pieces. If the water pools under them, this will be a wasted affair.
- Leave the pieces to drain for about 3 to 4 hours. I left them overnight.
- Making the Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu Batter
- After ensuring that the ash gourd pieces are quite dry, add the udad dal batter, green chilli paste, and about 1 tbsp salt.
- Mix well.
- Taste a bit of the batter; it should taste as though the salt is a tad less. Remember, the vadiyalu will become saltier after drying.
- After ensuring that the ash gourd pieces are quite dry, add the udad dal batter, green chilli paste, and about 1 tbsp salt.
- Making the Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu
- Spread an old cotton saree (folded to have 2 or 3 layers) or a plastic sheet in a sunny area.
- Weight it down well, so that it does not fold over or get dislodged in the wind.
- Take a small bowl of water and the vadiyalu batter near you.
- Take small portions of the dough (about a 2″ ball) and gently drop it on the saree or plastic sheet.
- Repeat the process to make all vadiyalu.
- The vadiyalu make look big initially but will shrink on drying.
- If you feel the batter sticking to your palm, dip your fingers in water and rinse the excess dough off your fingers. Much like you would use a finger bowl. Shake off the excess water from your fingers and make the vadiyalu.
- Let the Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu sun-dry till all moisture evapourates.
- I dried the vadiyalu for 4 days.
- Each evening, I just cover the vadiyalu with the plastic sheet and let them be where they are. I remove the plastic sheet the next day. This prevents the dew, if any, from making the vadiyalu damp.
- Flip the vadiyalu over every day to ensure they dry all the way. If the vadiyalu are sticking to the sari or plastic sheet, leave them alone and let them dry for another day. The vadiyalu will separate very easily from the cloth or plastic.
- On the third or fourth day, break open a vadiyam or two to ensure the insides are dried.
- Store the vadiyalu in an air-tight container.
- Deep-fry Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu just before eating.
- We also add the fried vadiyalu to Vankaya Bangala Dumpa Mudda Kura (Andhra Mashed Brinjal and Potato Curry).
Boodida Gummadi Vaidyam
I am taking these crispy, crunchy treats to the A to Z Recipe Recipe Challenge, where this month we have to showcase recipes with ingredients whose English name begins with A. I chose Ash Gourd for my ingredient and am delighted to present this traditional Andhra recipe.
My aunt who lives in Hyderabad makes this vadiyalu, and she brings us every summer, makes me nostalgic. Wish i get few rite now..Fantastic Aruna.
If you were near, I would get you some. 🙂
WoW i love detailed recipe of wadiya..I’m sure this gonna be very tasty and delicious too..Fabulous share ???
Thank you 🙂
First time hearing about Ashgourd Vadagam, sure will give a try by next year. Also it looks delicious.
Thank you, Deepa. Very popular and common in Andhra. 🙂
i love these vadi’s but never made at home….. wonderful detailed recipe…lovely share
These are delicious. I love them we make sandgi out of the ash gourd but it’s different from what you have made.
Beautiful recipe Aruna!Perfect to make and store in the summers and use the whole year through!What an awesome share!
Thanks for sharing crispy crunchy and delicious vadiyalu. New but really a tasty treat. Bookmarking it. I will try it soon.
I love vadiyalu.. they go so well with meals as a side dish.. crunchy and tasty. I have never tasted gummadikaya vadiyalu.
I have never heard of this dish, sounds so delicious and healthy.
So true right – Native place visit means purchase of all these sun dried beauties etc and come back home and savour them for few months. I loved the recipe and the star ingredient shines bright. Summers mean sun drying, pickling etc which is super fun and used to be done involving all the family members. It was a picnic of sorts on the terrace. Great post!
I still go nuts when I go to Andhra. Absolutely NUTS. Then I come home and wonder just what got into me. 😀 😀
I don’t blame you either, I end up paying extra luggage from our south trips too and have no regrets either. Happiness is what matters.
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I remember my mom making them but I’ve never tried making them myself. Thanks for your step by step pics, I know how to make them now. Love these with pappu and rice — comforting meal.
Absolutely! I have discovered other uses for them as well. Stay tuned for recipes. 🙂
What an interesting dish..never heard this before…the memories of native place always are pleasant even if we visit once a year or so
Never new about this…a different and an interesting dish
You brought back nostalgic memories…almost all the goodies you mentioned were a part of what we bring back from my native place…vadiyalu look perfect…I just need some rice with tomato pappu, avakaya and neyyi….I will be a happy person!!
We make a different kind using pop corn and ash gourd. Never knew of this one. Nice share
Some new things to learn in this post. Would love to eat this for lunch?
Need some amount of patience to make this. My mom makes this kind of fried chips. Lovely presentation and step by step pictures.
Wow that is an interesting way of making fryums. I wish we could get sun here so I could try all the sun dried recipes.
OK Aruna so as to save dental cost I’d rather you made the vadis for me 😉 On a serious note, traditional recipes are getting lost. Glad you shared this traditional recipe. South Indian recipes have such unique way of adding vegetables to mostly everything.
Aruna, Splendid and well explained classic recipe. We make vattal with the peel, have hardly tried this way. I am passing on this recipe on to my mom who loved to do vattals and vadams.
I hope she tries it, Seema. Let me know how it turns out or if you need any help. 🙂
a perfect snack with a cuppa! I like how you have used ash gourd!
OMG !!! What an interesting dish, totally new to me. Love to have these crunchies 🙂 Awesome share for theme
Thank you 🙂
Really Great and appreciate to spread the ancient healthy dishes in these times.
Thank you So much ?
Thank you. 🙂