A couple of weeks ago I had posted the recipe for an Andhra delicacy called Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu. These are sun-dried ash gourd fryums that are greatly sought after by Telugu people everywhere. Today, I present Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu, which are deep-fried balls of the Gummadikaya Vadiyalu batter.
Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu
Truth be told, I had never heard of Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu till Vishala posted them in a group for Andhra food. That piqued my interest and she explained that they are just the deep-fried fritters made with the Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu batter.
If you read my recipe for Budida Gummadikaya Vadiyalu, you will realise that the batter is more or less the same as that we use for Minapa Garelu | Medu Vada | Ulundu Vadai. So you can think of Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu as Medu Vada with Ash Gourd. 🙂
I have been itching to make these fritters for a while now but was loathe to deep-fry anything in Mumbai’s hot and humid summers. The suitable opportunity came by when we had the first rains this weekend and I hastened to make Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu. They turned out quite delicious and the ash gourd lent a crunch and a bite that was quite nice!
Recipe for Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu
Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu | Medu Vada with Ash Gourd
Ingredients
- 1/4 Kg Ash Gourd, Winter Melon, Budida Gummadikaya
- 75 gms Udad Dal, Minapa Pappu
- 2 tsp Rice Flour (Optional)
- 30 gms Green Chillies, Pacchi Mirapakayalu (10-15 in Numbers)
- 1/2 tsp Asafoetida, Inguva, Hing
- Salt to Taste
- Oil to Deep Fry
Instructions
- Cut the ash gourd into 1" x 1/2" pieces. Do not peel the ash gourd.
- Add 1 tsp salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Drain all the water the seeps out of the ash gourd and squeeze any extra water out of the pieces.
- Tie the pieces up in a white cotton cloth and hang the bundle so that any residual water drains out of the pieces.
- Wash and soak the udad dal in 2 cups water for at least 3 hours.
- Drain all of the water from the dal and grind it to a thick batter without using any water.
- Pound the green chillies to a coarse paste.
- Mix the green chilli paste, drained ash gourd pieces, asafoetida, rice flour, and some salt into the ground udad dal and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Keep a bowl of water handy.
- In a kadhai, over medium flame, heat enough oil for deep frying. Test the heat of the oil by dropping a pea sized ball of batter into it. The ball should rise to the top and fry slowly on the surface.
- Moisten your fingers and take about 1 tbsp of batter, roll it into a ball and flatten into a thick disc.
- Gently slide this Pacchi Vadiyam into the hot oil. You can add 3 or 4 vadiyams to the oil at a time, depending on how large your kadhai is.
- Let the Pachi Vadiyalu fry slowly.
- After a couple of minutes, flip the Vadiyalu over and let it continue to fry.
- Repeat the process till the Vadiyam is golden brown.
- Take the Vadiyam out of the oil and let all excess oil drain out.
- Repeat to make the other Pachi Vadiyalu.
- Serve hot with coconut chutney!
Notes
- Resist the temptation to add water while grinding the udad dal batter. After you add the ash gourd pieces, you will realise that the batter will become looser in consistency.
- Your fingers should just be damp when you shape a vadiyam. If they are wet, the water will seep into the vaidyam and it may absorb a lot of oil.
- Fry on medium flame to ensure that the Pacchi Vadiyalu are cooked inside as well.
- The rice flour makes the vadiyalu crisper and is a wholly optional ingredient.
Inside of a Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu
How to Make Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu
- Prepping the Budida Gummadikaya | Winter Melon | Ash Gourd
- Wash the gourd well.
- Cut away and discard the mushy centre part of the ash gourd, if any.
- Cut the ash gourd into small pieces. Do not peel the ash gourd.
- Add 1 tsp salt to the ash gourd pieces and mix well.
- Set aside for 15 minutes to let water seep out of the ash gourd.
- Drain all the water from the ash gourd and squeeze the pieces to remove any extra water.
- Tie the pieces up in a white cotton cloth and hang the bundle so that any remaining water drains out of the pieces.
- Making the Pachi Vadiyalu Batter
- Wash the udad dal well and soak it in 2 cups water for at least 3 hours.
- Drain all of the water from the soaked udad dal and grind it to a thick batter without using any water. Do not add water while grinding the udad dal batter because the batter will loosen up after you mix in the ash gourd pieces.
- Grind the green chillies to a coarse paste.
- Mix together the green chilli paste, drained ash gourd pieces, asafoetida, rice flour, salt, and the ground udad dal paste. The batter should have just a less salt than necessary. Deep-fried items becomes salty on frying.
- Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Wash the udad dal well and soak it in 2 cups water for at least 3 hours.
- Shaping and Frying the Budida Gummadikaya Pacchi Vadiyalu
- Keep a bowl of water handy.
- In a kadhai, over medium flame, heat enough oil for deep frying. The oil should be just medium hot. Test the heat by dropping a pea-sized ball of batter into the oil. The ball should rise slowly but immediately to the top and sizzle on the surface.
- Dip your fingers into the bowl of water and shake of the excess water so that your fingers are just moist. We do this to ensure the vadiyam does not stick to your fingers.
- Take about 1.5 tbsp of batter, roll it into a ball and flatten into a thick disc.
- Gently slide this Pacchi Vadiyam into the hot oil from the edge of the kadhai. You can add 3 or 4 vadiyams to the oil at a time, depending on how large your kadhai is.
- Over medium heat, let the Pacchi Vadiyalu fry.
- After a couple of minutes, flip the Vadiyalu over and let them continue to fry. If you find them browning very quickly turn the heat down. If you fry the vadiyalu quickly, the inside will remain raw.
- Repeat the process till the Vadiyam is golden brown.
- Take the Vadiyam out of the oil and let all excess oil drain out.
- Repeat to make the other Pacchi Vadiyalu.
- Serve hot with coconut chutney! I served the Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu with Hotel Style Coconut Chutney (Gulla Senaga Pappu Kobbari Pachadi)
Andhra Budida Gummadikaya Pachi Vadiyalu
Yum ?
I heard abot these quite late in my life. The person who introduced me to these said these are used as a substitute for vegetable dish with rice in the Andhra Meal. she used ripe red chillies (not dry red chillies).