Medu Wada with Green Chutney

In 1996 the owner of Hotel Vaishali, Jagannath B.Shetty, decided it was time to renovate. This was mostly to tackle the problem of vagabonds that occupied tables for long periods of time by ordering just coffee or tea and spent that time ogling at the honeys from nearby colleges. The brilliant solution to this problem was creating a small smoking section where the lallygagging, leering, permanent fixture like customers would be reassigned. Actual paying customers could then use the rest of the busy hotel. As a result, Mr. Shetty closed Vaishali for 3 months. People like myself and the rest of the collegiate crowd found themselves completely lost and had to find a place to park themselves for those meaningful hours between breakfast and lunch. Or what is known in college as the first four classes. Anyone who has gone to college in India knows that while it is essential to be enrolled in a top-notch college, attending classes is for losers. In desperation we turned to the few acceptable eateries around the area and thanks to Jagannath Shetty’s decision, they also did a fair amount of business during these three months. Some people including yours truly gravitated towards Hotel Savera. Savera is situated right opposite Fergusson College’s main gate, but its real selling point was the proximity to the Fergusson Women’s hostel. Savera’s South Indian food was not really that bad, but it will never compare to Vaishali. They did serve a few things that Vaishali didn’t. Like puri-bhaji and a few parathas. The one thing that I always ordered was the wada sambhar—it wasn’t bad. By the end of the third month I was actually getting quite fond of Savera. But then Jagannath Shetty opened the doors to the new and improved Vaishali. All the surrounding restaurants that had enjoyed good business during this time were almost empty. The Vaishali parking was full that day and I parked my Kinetic Honda close to Savera, but walked to Vaishali. Because although Savera was nice, it’s no Vaishali. But then again, what is? Ask any Puneite and you’ll get the same answer. There’s no substitute.

Ingredients
2 cups Urad Dal (Black Lentils)
½ cup Rice
1/s tsp cracked Pepper
1 tsp Ginger
3 tbsp grated or chopped Coconut
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep-frying

Method
Soak dal and rice over night in separate containers
Grind the dal and rice separately
Mix the two pastes
Add pepper, ginger, coconut and salt
Heat 2 1/2 cups of oil in a wok
With a Medu Wada maker drop doughnut like wadas directly into the hot oil
(If you don’t have a wada maker you can also drop 1 tbsp batter at a time using a tablespoon”
Deep fry till golden brown
Serve with coconut chutney or raw mango chutney.

Click here for Green Chutney Recipe
Click here for Green Mango Chutney Recipe