Bellam Garelu | Pakam Garelu from Andhra Pradesh
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.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Udad Dal (~110 gms)
- 1/2 Cup Jaggery (~125 gms)
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom or Pepper Powder
- 3 tbsp Water
- 1 Cup Oil (I used Peanut oil)
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
Making the Batter
- 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.