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Ulundu Bonda Recipe | Urad Dal Bonda Vada Recipe | Pepper Bonda (Milagu Bonda), a deep fried snack popular in the South Indian Cuisine. Ulundu Bonda is prepared with Urad Dal (known as Ulundu in Tamil). It is crisp on the outside & soft & fluffy from inside.

Although South Indian cuisine is well known for its healthy steamed breakfast items served with an array of chutneys, there are also some deep fried snacks that are served for morning breakfast or during teatime. One such crispy and soft deep fried snack is Ulundu Bonda aka Urad Dal Bonda Vada which is round ball in shape. This Ulundu Bonda has mainly pepper flavour and hence can also be called Pepper Bonda or Milagu Bonda (Pepper is known as Milagu in Tamil) or Miriyala Bonda (Pepper is known as Miriyalu in Telugu). It is almost similar to Medu Vada with slight difference in the shape & taste!

Important Tips for Crispy Ulundu Bonda:

Do not soak Urad dal for more than 2 to 3 hours.
Grind the batter to a thick, smooth & fluffy paste using as little water as possible. You can use a mixi or wet grinder for grinding.
This batter requires no fermentation and it should not be allowed to rest. Prepare Bonda as soon as you grind.
For any reason, if you refrigerate the batter for later use, make sure to add salt just before making the bondas.
Beat the batter for 2 to 3 minutes to get an airy batter, which will result in crispy & fluffy bondas.
Add bondas over medium high heat but then reduce heat & deep fry them over medium low heat for that crispy texture.

Steps to follow for

Ulundu Bonda Recipe – Urad Dal Bonda

Soak urad dal in water for 2 to 3 hours. Wash well & drain off the water and transfer to a mixi or grinder.
Blend to smooth, thick and fluffy batter adding only 1-2 tbsp of water.
Look for the consistency in the pic below.
Transfer the batter to a bowl. Beat well in one direction for 2 minutes or until the batter turns fluffy & increases in volume.
Now add pepper, cumin seeds, chopped curry leaves & some dry coconut bits and required salt. Combine everything and beat for another minute.
Heat oil in a deep pan/kadai over medium high heat.
Now, dip your hand in the water, and start dropping round balls (bondas) one by one to hot oil.
Reduce the heat & fry over medium heat stirring occasionally. Fry bondas until they turn golden brown and crisp on all siides.
Drain & transfer them on to a plate with kitchen tissue paper to absorb any excess oil.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve hot bonda with any chutney of your choice. Today I’m serving with ginger chutney, but coconut chutney also pairs well.

Print Recipe

Ulundu Bonda Recipe - Urad Dal Bonda Vada Recipe (Pepper Bonda)

Ulundu Bonda Recipe | Urad Dal Bonda, a deep fried popular evening snack prepared with Urad Dal (known as Ulundu in Tamil). It is crisp on the outside & soft & fluffy from inside.

Prep Time2

Cook Time18

Total Time20

Servings: 4

Author: Padma Veeranki

Ingredients

1 Cup Urad Dal
1 tbsp Pepper Crushed
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Few Curry Leaves Finely chopped
2 tbsp Fresh or Dry Coconut Finely chopped
¾ tsp Salt Adjust to taste
Oil For Deep Frying

Instructions

Soak Urad dal in water for 2 hours.
Wash well & drain off the water and transfer to a mixi or grinder.
Blend to a smooth yet thick and fluffy batter adding only 1-2 tbsp of water.
Transfer the batter to a bowl.
Beat well in one direction for 2 minutes or until the batter turns fluffy & increases in volume.
Now add pepper, cumin seeds, chopped curry leaves & some dry coconut bits and required salt.
Combine and beat for another minute.
Now, dip your hand in the water, and start dropping round balls (bondas) one by one to hot oil.
Fry over medium heat stirring occasionally.
Fry bondas until they turn golden brown and crisp.
Drain & transfer them on to a plate with kitchen tissue paper to absorb any excess oil.
Serve hot Bondas with chutney of your choice.

Recipe Video

Notes

Prep time doesn't include soaking time required for Urad dal.
Grind the batter with very less water. Blend to a thick, smooth & fluffy batter else the bonda will not turn crisp and will be difficult to shape & drop in oil.
Using ice cold water to grind the urad dal will reduce the batter from heating up if any heat is caused by the grinder. Do not run the mixer for long time, just pulse it a couple of times.
If urad dal is old and not good quality, you may not get the required volume of batter, hence you will result in less number of bondas.
Beat the batter well in one direction for 2 minutes to create an airy batter or until the batter turns fluffy & increases in volume. This will result in crispy & fluffy bondas.
Add salt just before frying as it releases water and makes the batter runny.
Pepper should give the needed spice kick & be the main flavour in Pepper Bonda. Adjust quantity to your taste.
Optionally, you can also include finely chopped green chillies, Ginger & Coriander for another variation.

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Happy Cooking

Cheers!!

Padma.