Milagu vadai or Anjaneyar kovil vadai is a traditional prasadam offered in anjaneyar temple. Before marriage in my town for anjaneyar they used to put the usual ulundu vada malai. After coming to chennai, we have an anjayneyar temple just opposite our house. There they used to put this thattai type crispy milagu vadai for anjayneyar and distribute it to all. Living there in the same street, we used to get the vadais daily and every day around 11 am they started making the vadais in the temple madapalli (kitchen). We could smell the vadai from our living room itself as the temple is just a few steps away from our house. I wanted to try this at home for a long time. My mil also enquired about the recipe with the temple friend roughly and told me. One of my friends who lives in the US once shared this vadai picture in a WhatsApp group. I was so curious to learn it from her too. After 10 days, she made it again for me and explained me with step-wise pictures. Wow, what a friend, a true dedication. So here I am with you with the perfect milagu vadai recipe.
Soak the urad dal in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water completely and put the urad dal in a colander to drain the water completely.
Pulse the urad dal without adding any water. Add the peppercorns and rice flour now and pulse again. If needed add 1 tsp of water. Do not grind into a smooth paste. Grind it coarsely and thick.
Add 1 tsp of hot oil and salt to the ground mixture. Mix well. Grease a zip lock cover with oil. Heat oil for frying. Take a very small lemon-sized dough and place it in the center of the ziplock.
Place another greased ziplock cover on it and place a flat-based vessel (I used a davara) on the ziplock to get even roundels.
Using your fingers further makes it thin. Be careful not to tear it. The thinner the vadais the more crispier it will be.
Carefully take out the ziplock which we kept on the top. Place a hole in the center of the vadai. Grease your hands before that.
Lift it carefully and put it inside hot oil. Ensure the oil should not be smoking hot. Keep the flame to medium-low while frying. Turn on both sides and ensure even cooking. Once they become golden brown take it out from the oil.
Drain the excess oil. Repeat this for the rest of the dough.
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