Medu Vada Doughnuts With Butternut Squash Sambar at Indienne
FOR THE MEDU VADA DOUGHNUTS
Whole hulled urad dal: 65 g
Bread flour: 290 g
Baking soda: 1 g
Salt: 1.5 g
Sugar: 5 g
Water: 150 g, plus more for soaking and grinding the dal
Large eggs: 240 g (beaten)
Honey: 10 g
Neutral oil: for deep frying
FOR THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH RINGS
Butternut squash necks: 500 g (peeled)
Salt: 6 g
Madras curry powder: 30 g
Unsalted butter: 50 g
Melted ghee: for glazing
Lemon juice: 15 g
FOR THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SAMBAR
Toor dal or yellow split lentils: 120 g
Butternut squash: 500 g (peeled and diced)
Ground turmeric: 2 g
Water: as needed
Neutral oil: 20 g
Mustard seeds: 1 g
Curry leaves: 5 g (2 sprigs, leaves only)
Hing (asafoetida): 2.5 g
Sambar powder: 25 g
Tamarind pulp: 15 g
Salt: 15 g
FOR THE TOMATO PACHADI
Neutral oil: 30 g
Curry leaf: 1
Garlic: 20 g (chopped)
Ginger: 5 g (chopped)
Onions: 25 g (chopped)
Ground turmeric: 2 g
Deggi mirch powder: 20 g
Thai green chile: 3 g (chopped)
Tomatoes: 400 g (chopped)
Cilantro stems: 5 g (chopped)
Salt: 5 g
FOR THE COCONUT CHUTNEY
Roasted chana dal: 15 g
Cold water: 75 g
Coconut: 125 g (freshly grated)
Green chile: 5 g (chopped)
Ginger: 5 g (chopped)
Curry leaves: 5
Salt: 5 g
FOR THE EQUIPMENT
Blender
Fine-mesh sieve
Small round cutter
-liter iSi Gourmet Whip with two compatible N₂O cream chargers
Deep-fry thermometer
2-ounce metal ladle or doughnut mold designed for frying
Wire rack
Immersion circulator and vacuum sealer or a stovetop steamer
Medu vada are savory South Indian fritters made with urad dal, often eaten for breakfast with sambar and coconut chutney. For Sathish Kumar, the smell of them frying is a memory of Diwali mornings in his mother’s kitchen in Chennai.
“The batter is everything,” says Kumar. His version combines urad dal paste with bread flour and eggs, then uses a siphon to aerate the batter before frying. Each crisp doughnut sits on a curry-spiced squash ring filled with coconut chutney and topped with tomato pachadi. Warm butternut squash sambar goes over the doughnut just before serving.
- Rinse the urad dal and soak it in water for at least 30 minutes, until it is soft enough to grind smoothly.
- While it soaks, cut the squash and start the sambar.
- Cut the peeled squash necks crosswise into 8- to 10-mm slices. Use a small round cutter to punch out the center of each slice. Reserve the centers and any usable flesh from the bulb ends for the sambar, adding more peeled squash as needed to reach 500 g for that component.
- For the sous vide method, heat a water bath to 185°F (85°C). Season the rings with the salt and Madras curry powder, then vacuum-seal them with the butter in a single layer, using more than one bag if needed. Cook for 35 to 50 minutes, until tender but firm enough to lift intact.
- For the stovetop method, steam the unseasoned rings in batches until tender but still intact, checking them after 12 minutes. Melt the butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the curry powder and salt, then gently turn the steamed rings in the spiced butter to coat. Set the rings aside until assembly.
- Rinse the toor dal until the water runs mostly clear.
- Drain and put it in a saucepan with the diced squash and turmeric.
- Add enough water to just cover.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the dal is completely soft and the squash is tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Add more water as needed to keep the dal submerged.
- Drain the soaked urad dal well.
- Grind it to a smooth paste, adding only enough fresh water to keep the blades moving. Weigh out 65 g of the paste.
- Whisk together the bread flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the measured 150 g water with the eggs, honey, and urad dal paste.
- Gradually whisk the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until smooth.
- Pass the batter through a fine-mesh sieve, cover, and refrigerate for an estimated 45 to 60 minutes while you finish the accompaniments.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the curry leaf, garlic, and ginger and cook for about 2 minutes without browning the garlic.
- Add the onion and cook until translucent.
- Stir in the turmeric and Deggi mirch and cook for about 30 seconds, adding a splash of water if the spices begin to stick.
- Add the green chile, tomatoes, and cilantro stems. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and oil begins to separate around the edges.
- Add the salt, blend until smooth, and pass through a fine-mesh sieve if desired.
- Cool and refrigerate until serving.
- Soak the roasted chana dal in some of the measured cold water for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dal and its soaking water to a blender with the coconut, green chile, ginger, curry leaves, and salt.
- Blend until smooth, adding the remaining water gradually until the chutney is soft enough to spoon into the squash rings.
- Refrigerate until serving.
- Once the dal and squash are tender, heat the oil in a small skillet.
- Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Add the curry leaves and hing, then stir in the sambar powder and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add a small splash of water if the spices begin to stick.
- Stir this mixture into the dal and squash.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tamarind pulp and salt and simmer briefly.
- Blend until smooth, using a blender suitable for hot liquids, and add water as needed until the sambar pours easily.
- Taste for seasoning and keep warm.
- Warm the squash rings if needed, brush them with melted ghee, and finish with the lemon juice. Set the rings, warm sambar, tomato pachadi, and coconut chutney within reach of the plates.
- Pour the cold, strained batter into the 1-liter iSi Gourmet Whip up to its marked fill line. Charge it with two compatible N₂O cream chargers, one at a time, following the manufacturer’s instructions for charging and shaking.
- Heat about 2 inches of neutral oil to 355°F (180°C) in a deep, heavy pot with ample room above the oil. Working beside the stove, dispense about 50 mL of batter into a dry 2-ounce metal ladle or doughnut mold. Lower the bowl of the ladle partway into the oil, keeping the rim above the surface. With a separate long-handled metal spoon, spoon a little hot oil over the batter to set the outside. When the base is firm enough to release, gently tip the doughnut into the oil.
- Turn as needed and fry until evenly golden and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack. Split open the first doughnut to check that the center is set, then fry the remaining batter in small batches, letting the oil return to temperature between batches.
- Place a warm squash ring in the center of each plate and spoon coconut chutney into the opening.
- Pipe or spoon a little tomato pachadi onto the squash and set a freshly fried doughnut on top.
- Pour warm sambar over the doughnut just before serving.
- For a full batch, plate and serve in waves so the doughnuts are still crisp.
