Bengaluru: For all those tearing up over the price of onions, there's a group in Mysuru that's even more distraught - the Maddur Vada aficionado. The Maddur Vada is every train traveller's must have on the Mysuru-Bengaluru-Mysuru section, and it is the latest casualty of the astronomical price of onions, - Rs 160 per kg in Mysuru - as making a vada with onions in the mix, practically impossible.
Especially, now that the Maddur Vada makers are tearing up over using cabbage instead of onions!
According to Prakash, who specialises in preparing the Maddur Vada, he said that unlike onions, the cabbage has a lot more moisture, and this effectively kills the vada's crunch and bite. Whereas the onion, neatly mixed with the atta, blends beautifully, and when fried in hot edible oil, makes it stay crisp for hours, not so the wilting cabbage! “Earlier, the vadas used to remain crisp for five to six hours. It's all down to the moisture in the cabbage leaves. Unlike the Maddur Vada made with onions, which goes perfectly with a hot cuppa of filter coffee, these vadas go soft in seconds! As onion prices hit the roof, our sales are hitting the ground!," says Prakash, adding that regular customers have sworn to go off the Maddur Vada until onions are back in the mix.
That could take a while. Right now, says Prakash, it's unprofitable. Is it the end of the road for the eponymous Maddur Vada?
