Medu Vada is a popular South Indian fried snack made from urad dal (lentils) and traditionally served with sambar soup or coconut chutney. They remind me of savory, crispy little doughnuts.
Although my South Indian friends insist they are not that difficult to make from scratch, I have not yet been courageous enough to try. So I always keep a large bag of Udupi brand frozen Medu Vadas handy to make one of my favorite quick breakfasts – Medu Vada Wraps.
These vegan wraps are fast – aside from cooking time, there’s only a few minutes of hands-on prep. They’re easy – it’s more about assembling than cooking. They’re portable – you can grab one and eat it on your way to work, or while walking the dog. They are high protein – 19 grams per wrap! And all you need are three convenience items, which you can find at any Indian grocery. (In Charlotte, NC I recommend India Grocers.)
Ingredients For One Wrap:
Two frozen Medu Vadas
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon Chutney (or to taste)
1 Roti (you can buy these ready to heat and eat)
Sliced Vegetables (tomato, onions, cucumber) – Optional
Directions:
Prepare the frozen Medu Vadas as directed on the packaging. This usually means heating in an oven or toaster oven for about 15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or they will get hard.
During the last few minutes of cooking time, heat the roti – either on the stove, or pop it into the oven with the Medu Vadas to warm up.
Spread the chutney on the roti. Here I used a mix of mint chutney and green chili pepper chutney. This is a hot combination, so I only used a little. Depending on what kind of chutney you use, you may want to use more. Keep in mind, though, the more chutney you use, the more likely it is to drip and the less portable your wrap will be.
Cut the vadas in half and line them up down the center of your roti.
Roll the roti up tightly and enjoy!
This humble Medu Vada wrap has 19 grams of protein!!!
If you don’t have roti, you could also use a tortilla or even a pita. You can also add some fresh, raw vegetables such as slices of tomato, cucumber, and onion.
Here, I’m using a last lonely pita bread left over from falafel night to make a vada wrap. I spread a tiny bit of Vegenaise over the pita (since the bread is thicker, I thought it needed a little extra moisture), and then blended a little mint, coriander, and green chili chutney on top.
Next, I added the vadas …
and some tomato and sweet vidalia onions.
Finally, I rolled the wrap and cut it in half to make it a little less bulky and awkward!
VegCharlotte 
This wrap sounds divine.. Almost like a vada khati roll:) Medhu vada can be tricky to make, everything depends on how much water goes into the batter and the consistency of the batter. Once you nail that, it’s quite simple. If you feel adventurous to try it out, there’s a Medhu vada recipe on my blog.
I swear, every time I start considering a new cooking challenge … you either post a recipe or say, “I have a recipe on my blog!” 🙂 You know I’ll be checking it out!
Great looking. Real eye appeal. And 19 grams of protean. WOW
Yup. According to the bag, two vadas have 15 grams of protein, which is not surprising since the flour is made from lentils! And a whole wheat roti has another 4 grams.
Wow. This sounds yum. We make vadas at home. But either float it in sambar or curd and eat them. I should try this out
Oh, I love vadas in sambar! Please do give this recipe a try. It’s one of my favorite breakfasts.