making maddur vada dough

Cup of Yum
1. Firstly in a bowl take ½ cup rice flour.
2. Then add ¼ cup fine sooji (rava or cream of wheat) and ¼ cup maida (all purpose flour).
3. Next add ½ cup finely chopped onion, 1 to 2 finely chopped green chilies, 8 to 9 chopped curry leaves and 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.
4. Add salt as per taste and 1 pinch hing (asafoetida). Adding asafoetida is optional and can be skipped.
5. Mix very well and keep aside.
6. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl or steel measuring cup. The oil has to become hot.
7. Add the hot oil in the flours+onions+spices mixture.
8. With a spoon mix very well. Do not mix with hands as the oil will be hot. 
9. Then add 4 to 4.5 tablespoons water in parts.
10. Add water in parts and begin to mix and form a dough. Amount of water to be added depends on the quality of sooji, flours and the moisture in the onions. So add accordingly and in parts. You should get a nice soft dough like a chapati dough. It should not be dry or sticky.
11. Mix to a soft smooth dough like a chapati dough. If the dough feels sticky, then add some 2 to 4 teaspoons maida (all purpose flour) and mix again. If the dough looks dry, then sprinkle some water and continue to mix.

frying maddur vada

1. Heat oil for deep frying maddur vade in a kadai or pan. Take a small to medium portion of the dough and shape into a round ball or patty.
2. Place this on a plantain leaf or a ziplock bag. With your fingers press the dough ball and make a round patty having 0.25 to 0.3 mm thickness.
3. Add a small piece of the dough mixture in the hot oil. If it comes up gradually and steadily, the oil is ready to be fried. Fry the maddur vade on medium flame.
4. Now gently remove the patty from the banana leaf.
5. Place it gently and carefully in the oil. You can fry 2 to 5 maddur vade at a time depending on the size of the kadai.
6. Let one side get fried well and become a light golden. Do not be in a hurry to turn them or else they break.
7. Then turn over and fry the other side.
8. Turn over a couple of times with a slotted spoon and fry the vade till they are crisp and golden.
9. You will see that the onions will also turn brown once the maddur vadas are fried well. If you fry more, then the vadas become too crisp. So for crispy and brittle vadas you can fry more.
10. Once crisp and golden, then remove them with a slotted spoon.
11. Place them in a plate lined with kitchen paper towels. in a similar way fry all the vadas.
12. Serve maddur vada with coconut chutney or with any chutney or sauce of your choice.