Spinach Medu vada or garelu and Chicken curry are the best combination ever, my kids love spinach vadas and I always keep a little extra batter aside to pack in their lunchboxes. Vadas are usually eaten with coconut chutney and sambhar and as breakfast but we like to add chicken curry to make it a complete meal for lunch or dinner. I added Persimmon to my lunchbox as that is what is available at this time of the year, you can use any fruits you like. Adding fruits to this lunchbox makes it a perfect combination of Carbs, Protein, veggies and fruits.

Spinach Medu Vada or Garelu with chicken curry and persimmon cut into slices in a lunchbots lunchbox.

So, What is Medu vada?

Medu vada or Gare is a crispy doughnut shaped fritter from Southern part of India. It is made with Urad dal that is soaked for 6-8 hours and ground to a coarse thick batter. This batter is made in a flat round doughnut shape and then deep fried in oil to get a crispy outside and a soft inside. Its incredibly delicious just as plain. Usually cumin seeds, salt and asafoetida are added to the batter to make it easy for digestion. Its super rich in protein and deep frying it in good fats like Avocado oil makes it so much better for you. To make it more nutritious, I add leafy greens like spinach or kale, onions, green chilies, cilantro and curry leaves. This is super flavorful and delicious, I don’t make plain Gare anymore now.

Process to make Spinach Gare:

Soak Urad dal for 6-8 hours. Drain the water completely and grind into coarse paste. Do not add water while grinding at all. If the blender or grinder is having trouble grinding the batter, adding a couple tablespoons of water is okay.
Transfer to a bowl and add chopped spinach, finely chopped onion, green chili, cilantro, curry leaves, cumin seeds and salt. Asafoetida and peppercorns are optional. I also add a pinch of baking soda to make the vadas fluffier.
Heat avocado oil in a wok or a deep pan until its super hot but not smoky. I use a lodge 9 inch cast iron wok for deep frying, I avoid using non-stick pans for my cooking.
Mix the batter thoroughly until all the greens are mixed through.
Drop a little batter into oil to see if your oil is hot and ready. The batter ball should float up.
Use a plastic baggie and wipe it once with water. Take a ball of batter with your hand and flatten and shape into a circle on the plastic bag. Make a hole in the center, this is optional. This is the traditional shape of vada, so we make a hole in the center.
Gently peel it off and drop it into the oil carefully. Repeat the process until there are 5-6 vadas in the oil.
Fry the vadas till they are golden brown. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

How to prep for this Lunchbox Spinach Medu Vada with Chicken curry and Persimmon:

How to make vadas in the morning:

This batter can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator for the next day. Just keep the batter in an airtight container and you are ready to go in the mornings. I have also heard that this batter can be frozen, but I cannot vouch for it. I just prep the night before and fry the vadas in the mornings.

Recipe for Chicken curry :

This chicken curry is a spicy Andhra style chicken curry that goes really well with rice, roti, pulao, jeera rice, etc. Pairing this curry with Gare or vada just brightens up my daughter’s lunchtime 😊. Click this picture below for chicken curry recipe:

Andhra style Chicken curry with curry leaves on top.

Which lunchbox is used and how to pack Indian curries in the lunchbox?

I live in US, so I can only recommend products available here. I used a large lunchbots box here and I love it! Its dishwasher-safe and completely unbreakable, because my daughter loves throwing her backpack and lunch bag everywhere, we have broken a few plastic and glass boxes this way. So, please get a Lunchbots Large Trio Stainless Steel lunchbox and that will last for years.

You can also go with planetbox, a lot of people in my Facebook group love it. I should also mention this new Bentgo Leak-resistant Stainless steel lunchbox, which is new in the market. I haven’t tested it yet, so I cannot vouch for it. We do love our plastic Bentgo kids box, its truly leakproof.

For dips or curries, which leak, I recommend getting this Lunchbots Leakproof Dip containers that fit perfectly well in Lunchbots Large lunchbox. This is not a sponsored post, I am a true fan of lunchbots 😀