The Indian street food made from deep-fried lentil batter shaped like a ring is medu vada.
Medu vada is prepared mainly from urad dal, or black gram. The lentils are soaked for several hours, ground into a thick batter, seasoned with ingredients such as ginger, cumin, black pepper, curry leaves, chillies, or asafoetida, and shaped into rings before being fried until crisp and golden.
Its ring shape gives medu vada a distinctive contrast: the outside becomes crunchy while the inside stays soft and airy. It is commonly served with sambar, a lentil-and-vegetable stew, and coconut chutney. In South Indian restaurants it is especially associated with breakfast dishes such as idli and dosa, but it is also widely sold as a snack.
The name is often explained through regional Indian languages, with “medu” referring to softness and “vada” to a fried savory snack. It can be confused with other vadas, including flatter versions made from chana dal or other pulses; those are related foods but not the same canonical dish.