Bellam Garelu or Pakam Garelu are Medu Vadas in Jaggery Syrup. This is a traditional recipe from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is made often as a part of naivedyam for poojas.
Wash the udad dal well, and soak in 1 cup water for 4 hours.
Drain all the water.
Grind to a thick paste.Avoid adding any water, if possible. Grind in small batches.
Add a little salt and mix well.
Making the Jaggery Syrup (Do this when the first batch of the vadas are frying)
In a heavy-bottomed vessel, mix together the grated jaggery, cardamom or pepper powder, and water.
On low heat, melt the jaggery.
Turn off the heat.
Making the Bellam Garelu | Pakam Garelu
In a deep kadai, over medium flame, heat the oil. To test the heat of the oil, drop a tiny pinch of the batter into it. The batter should slowly rise to the surface in a few seconds and sizzle.
Wet a plastic sheet or banana leaf.
Dip your fingers in a bowl of water and scoop up a small portion of the batter.
Place the batter on the wet plastic sheet and pat into a circle.
Wet your index finger and make a hole in the centre.
Gently flip the vada onto your fingers and peel off the plastic sheet.
Slide the vada into the hot oil.
Let the vada fry for a minute or so and then flip over.
Let the vada fry till it is golden brown. Flip at regular intervals to ensure the vadas fry evenly.
Using a slotted ladle, remove the vadas from the oil and let the oil drain away a bit.
Add the hot vadas to the jaggery syrup.
Let the vadas soak in the syrup for 5 minutes or while the next batch is frying.
Remove the vadas from the syrup and transfer them to another container.
Repeat till all the Bellam Garelu | Pakam Garelu are made.
Pour any leftover syrup onto the vadas.
Serve warm.
Notes
Use as little water as possible (none is the best) while grinding the udad dal batter.
Use either cardamom powder or pepper powder in the jaggery syrup. I personally like the kick of the pepper powder. :)
Making vadas needs some practice so don't worry if the shape is not perfect.
Keyword Bellam Garelu, Jaggery Vada, Pakam Garelu, Sweet Vadas
Tried this recipe?Do let me know how you liked it @aahaaram or tag #aahaaram!